Accidentally in Love
by KurtCoBlainer
Summary: Klaine Fanfic. AU. The new kid Blaine Anderson joins the football team in his pursuit to live a "normal" life. However, his plan slowly begins to unravel due to a boy cheerleader named Kurt Hummel.
1. Chapter 1

**Quick Author's Note****: This story takes place towards the beginning of season 2. Also, the Cooper in the story is not canon and instead is much like the Cooper Anderson from the AskTheAnderBros blog. This fic was inspired by the cover art pic which was drawn by the ****AMAZING ****Kiwa (kiwakostalova on tumblr). I highly recommend you check out her blog. She is extremely talented!**

**EDIT: We are currently revamping our beginning chapters, so the writing on the first 12 is a little rough. But it does get better lol. We promise.**

Chapter 1

He stood there, nervous, nauseous, with his stomach tied up in knots.

_I can't do this._

He argued with himself as he ran a hand through his tamed but bushy brown hair.

_Yes I can. I just need to relax._

He took a few deep breaths and almost considered going back home.

_I could stay home today. No one would care if I missed another day of class. Nothing ever happens, anyways._

But he knew this was his only chance for a truly fresh start. Without another thought, and with a bit of determination, he pushed open the doors and entered the hallways of William McKinley High School.

The smell of desperation, B.O., and overly dramatic teenagers hit his nose like a brick wall as the dim hallway lighting provided a sharp contrast to the sun outside and blurred his vision for a few seconds. Once he was able to see again, he immediately noticed the rows of endless lockers, and the various students rummaging through them as they greeted old friends. A tough guy with a Mohawk and a muscle shirt flirting with a sexy Latina in a WMHS cheerleader's uniform. A pretty blonde girl, with a similar uniform, holding hands with a blonde boy wearing a Letterman jacket as they walked down the hall. A big black girl with an even bigger persona gossiping with a brunette with bangs who seemed to resemble a toddler. There was a feeling in the air. He didn't know quite what to call it, but he knew that it was a good feeling and he liked it.

This was it. A new start, a new chance. So long as he played his cards right, everything would be fine.

_Now if only I could find out where the locker room is…_

He looked around nervously. Everyone here was so…settled in, so comfortable in their surroundings. He stuck out like a sore thumb and that was the last thing he wanted.

_Okay Blaine, you can do this. Just try to blend in. There's gotta be someone around here who-_

Down the hallway he spotted a guy in a Letterman jacket standing alone by his locker. He was incredibly tall, especially compared to Blaine's height, and had it not been for the dopey and slightly vacant look on his face, he might have been intimidating. Out of all the students in the crowded hallway, he seemed to be the most harmless.

_Well, here goes…_

He walked anxiously towards the teenage giant, trying his best to keep his cool.

"Hey, um, my name's Blaine. I'm new here."

"Oh, uh, 'sup dude? I'm Finn."

He took a deep breath before replying.

"Hey. So you wouldn't happen to know where the locker room is, would you?"

Finn chuckled.

"Uh, yeah. It's down the hall and to the right. Can't miss it."

"Awesome. Thanks."

Finn gave him a smile and Blaine descended down the hall.

_Okay, that was good. No weird comments, he seemed nice, and I didn't puke, so that's a plus. Maybe this school won't be so bad._

* * *

Finally finished dressing out due to his late arrival, Blaine stepped out onto the football field and looked around.

_Now where to go?..._

The hordes of students were already bunched up into little cliques all over the field. The jocks were already tossing a football around and all of the preppy girls sat chatting about Saturday's party. And then there were the geeks, and the nerds, and the freaks. And Blaine didn't belong in any of those groups, not just yet. So he did the only thing he could think to do and took a seat on the bleachers by himself.

He knew today wouldn't be easy. It was his first day after all, and even before today he had been missing a lot of school. It would take a little while for him to get back into the swing of things, but he knew he would eventually find a way to assimilate. After all, there were much worse things than just being alone.

Breaking out of his train of thought, he spotted a football flying out of the corner of his eye over the middle of the field heading towards a fence. By instinct he shot up from his seat and ran over to it and with very little time to spare, he caught it. The couple of jocks who had been throwing the ball gave a few cheers. Blaine smiled and threw the ball back to them.

"Hey, kid!"

Blaine looked around to try and figure who the football coach was talking to.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. The one who just caught the football. Get over here."

He slowly made his way over to the coach.

"MOVE."

He then quickly made his way over to the coach.

"What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Blaine Anderson, sir. OH, oh sorry, I meant ma'am"

The coach took a deep breath then began to speak again.

"I'm Coach Beiste, You ever played football before?"

"Oh, well not really. Just a little with my dad when I was a kid, but nothing serious."

"Well you've really got some natural talent there, Anderson."

"Thanks, Ma'am"

"It's Coach Beiste, or just Coach. None of this "ma'am" stuff."

"Oh, well then, thanks Coach"

"Would you be interested in playing football? 'Cause one of my running backs got sacked last week and you run faster than a five legged mouse being chased by a hungry ostrich."

_I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about, but this could be my only chance._

"Uh, sure?"

"Good. I expect to see you in the locker room ready to go no later than 2:45. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir- uh, ma'am- uh, Coach."

"Alright everyone! Bell's about ring so go get changed!"

He walked towards the locker room with the rest of his classmates, trying his very best not to smile so much.

_I did it. I actually did it. God, wait til' I tell Coop! He's gonna be so excited!_

* * *

Blaine: Project Just Blend In is going very well.

Cooper: What happened?

Blaine: Made the football team.

Cooper: Seriously? What position?

Blaine: Running back :)

Cooper: Nice!

Blaine: Dad'll be happy…

Cooper: You know I'm still not a fan of this whole thing.

Blaine: idk I kinda find it fun. Being someone else.

Cooper: Put your phone away before you get caught.

Blaine: Deflecting…

* * *

The school day had passed quickly, except for the fact that Blaine was alone for most of it. He may have been surrounded by a thousand faces, but he didn't know a single one. Finally it was 2:30 and as the school bell rang, he rushed out of his classroom and down the hall to the locker room, hoping to be the first one there and have a minute or two to get settled, but he had no such luck.

Blaine entered the locker room and descended into a sea of sweaty jocks.

_God, these places still make me nervous…_

The atmosphere was, in a word, chaotic. Boys were shoving and pushing each other as they changed into their dirty, unwashed football padding. There was almost no room to breathe, not that you would want to, with the stench of sweat and axe body spray seeping into every inch of the room. Guys were joking with each other, play fighting, yelling, and screaming. They were, in simple terms, acting like boys. Something Blaine had yet to master.

To Blaine they seemed more like gorillas in a zoo than a football team. Two guys in particular seemed to like messing with the other guys. Both were rather menacing creatures, big and hulking, dominating the locker room. The rest of the guys seemed to give them a wide birth whenever they were unlucky enough to have to walk by the boys' lockers. Most got by without a problem, but some were not so fortunate.

"Please Azimio. Just leave me alone for one day."

"And why would we do that Mr. Jew Fro?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, you are just so much fun to mess with!" The other one, apparently named Azimio, shoved him up against the lockers with a loud thud.

Those two were indeed a team, in the worst sense of the word. Blaine knew he should do something, anything to help the poor, scrawny little water boy, but his legs could not, would not move.

_I want to help, I really do…but I don't want to get on the wrong side of anybody just yet, especially those two._

After only a minute or two, though for Blaine It felt like an hour, the brutes had finished their daily barrage of insults and had decided that today was just not the day to beat the scrawny boy to a pulp, so they let him run free. Blaine let out a sigh of relief.

_Thank God he didn't get hurt. I'd better stay away from them…_

A voice came up from behind and startled him.

"Hey dude. Looks like you found the locker room okay."

Blaine turned around. It was that dopey looking kid from earlier.

"Oh, hey. Yeah, I was a little late to class earlier today, but I found it. Thanks. You said your name's Finn, right?"

"Yeah. Your's was Dane?"

"Umm, it's Blaine, but close enough. So you're on the football team?"

"Yeah. Quarterback."

"Nice!"

The thick laughter of the boy, Azimio, and his friend caught their attention.

"Who _are_ those guys?"

"Oh, them. Well they are the best right and center guards on the team, but they aren't really 'team players'. They pick on that Jacob kid all the time."

"Yeah, I kind of noticed that."

Finn just shrugged awkwardly and began talking.

"Yeah. So what are you doing here?"

"I uh-"

Coach Beiste walked into the room.

"Alright boys! Settle down! Eh! Azimio! Karofsky! That means you! Okay, as you all know Johnson's out for the rest of the season. That being said, the new kid Anderson is gonna take his place. Now, he hasn't played much football but he's pretty damn good from what I've seen. Everyone get padded up and we'll do a short scrimmage to get him use to how we play. I expect to see you all out on that field in 5!"

The coach eyed Azimio and Karofsky once more before returning to the football field.

"Oh, so you're Johnson's replacement? Nice! But you've got some big shoes to fill."

"Umm oh, okay cool."

_Okay…..great….he was an awesome player, and I've never played a real game of football in my entire life. Super._

Blaine ran out onto the field, along with the rest of the team. As he looked out into the sidelines, something caught his eye. The cheerleaders were practicing, but it wasn't all the pretty girls in short skirts that grabbed his attention. No, what he noticed was something much more…unusual. A boy. A boy cheerleader, with sandy brown hair and gleaming bluish-grey eyes. His flawless, porcelain-like skin that was brought to life by the light blush on his face made him seem almost fragile. Yet, he was so flexible. His high kicks reached almost to his face and his cartwheels and round-offs were to perfection. His smile and energy radiated so bright that Blaine swore he could feel him even though he was a good amount of yards away. He found himself breathless.

_Whoa._

He realized that he had been staring a second too long and snapped out of his gaze only to hear a voice call out.

"Yo! Anderson! Look out!"

A moment later he was on the ground with a football lying next to his face. The cheerleaders laughed hysterically. The boy cheerleader covered his mouth and stared in shock, trying his best to hold in his giggles. Blaine looked up and saw two guys standing over him. Both had Mohawks and looked to be twins. At least, until Blaine's vision cleared up and he realized there was only one guy there.

"Yo, dude! You okay?"

"What happened?"

"By the looks of it you got a little distracted by the fine eye candy over there."

_Fine eye candy indeed. Oh, no stop it. He's just a boy._

"Some hot chicks, huh? Yeah, they're all over the Puckasaurus."

The guy started to flex his muscles and admire himself. Blaine turned his head and looked back over at the boy cheerleader, who smiled at him. He involuntarily smiled back, then realized what he was doing. Blaine noticed a Latina cheerleader waving and winking at him and he pretended that that's who he was smiling at.

"Here, lemme help you up."

The kid, who Blaine made out to be Puck, reached out his arm. He grabbed it and got off the ground. The coach walked over to him.

"You okay, Anderson?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little sidetracked. Sorry."

"Alright, well don't let it happen again. I don't want to lose another running back. Ok boys! Let's begin this scrimmage!"

They were quickly divided up into two teams, and lucky for Blaine he was put onto Finn's team. They got into formation, the whistle blew, and the scrimmage started.

Everything was a blur; Blaine didn't know where to go, or what to tackle. He was nervous, but maybe, just maybe he was doing good enough to be an acceptable replacement for Johnson.

_I have no idea what I am doing. Oh, um there's the ball._

Before he knew what he was doing he had grabbed the ball and was running as fast as his legs could carry him. He quickly glanced left and right to see if anyone was chasing him, and realized that the closest person was at least 20 feet behind him. Blaine noticed that he was only a few seconds from the end zone and that he was about to score a point.

His feet touched the end zone and all he could hear was clapping and cheering.

"Great job Anderson! Some amazing playing! You said you have never played an organized game of football before?"

"No, ma'am nothing."

"Well damn, boy, that was spectacular!"

There was a clap of thunder from the sky above them and without any further warning; rain began to fall in buckets, immediately soaking them to the bone.

"Looks like we'll have to end practice there for today! Good job!"

Blaine walked off the field with his teammates, who kept congratulating him, while on the inside, Blaine was trying to shake the image of that boy out of his mind.

_Wow. He's just…oh crap. No. No, Blaine stop. I won't let this happen. I'm going to live a normal life and not worry about that stuff. He's just a boy. That's all. Just a boy…_


	2. Chapter 2

**I have graduation tomorrow so we're posting this up today :) Its a short one so we may post up another sometime this week. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 2

_Today is going to be good._

Kurt stood at his locker, with a silly smile on his face, thinking about a boy. A boy whose name he did not know, but every time he thought of him, the smile plastered on his face grew larger and the butterflies in his stomach multiplied. A boy with messy brown hair, and hazel eyes, who had stared at him just a bit longer that normal. A boy who made his heart do back flips whenever he pictured his face, his arms, _anything_ really. A boy that Kurt couldn't get out of his mind, even if he was a boy whose name he did not know. It was this boy that he had been thinking about ever since practice had been rained out the day before, and he wondered,

_Has he been thinking about me too…?_

Kurt, still inside his head, thinking about _that boy_, pulled open his locker, grabbed his hairspray, and began to spray his hair generously. Just when he had built up a decent sized hairspray cloud, he heard a small squeaky cough behind him.

"Jeez, Kurt! Use enough hairspray?"

The boy turned his attention to a very short brunette who was wearing a reindeer sweater.

"Oh. Hey Rachel."

Kurt placed the can back into his locker, shut it, and then leaned up against it. He let out a small sigh as he once again pictured the piercing gaze of those hazel eyes.

"Well you're awfully smiley today. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just a good day I guess, a very good day"

Kurt smiled at the secret meaning behind his words.

"I guess I'm just looking forward to cheer practice today."

Rachel couldn't help but whine,

"Ugh. I still can't believe you joined the _Cheerios_, they're all just a bunch of sluts in tiny skirts. Wait, what's special about practice today?"

"Nothing. The football team is just also scheduled to practice."

"Uh-huh. And?"

Kurt turned to face his little friend,

"And what? Are you really surprised that I _enjoy_ staring at extremely handsome boys in tight pants?"

Rachel gave Kurt a stern look,

"Is this about Finn? 'Cause I thought we agreed that after you two became stepbrothers liking him would be weird-"

Kurt's nose scrunched up in reply,

"No, ew, it's not Finn, I've moved on to much…_greener_ pastures."

Rachel looked relieved for a moment then glared at Kurt,

"Okay good….wait…what do you mean ew?"

"Jesus Rachel, don't tell me you're _still_ not over him. Didn't he dump your ass like a month ago?"

"He did not-…so what's new about the football team?"

Kurt shyly looked down at his hands, trying to avoid looking Rachel in the eye.

"Like I said, nothing. They did get a new running back, but I don't know he seems a bit….dorky."

Kurt chuckled, then smiled, then sighed.

_Why can't I stop thinking about him!_

They had been friends for a while now, and Rachel saw right through his little façade.

"You like him, don't you?"

"What? No. I don't even know the guy! He was pretty cute though."

The pair giggled like a bunch of giddy 6th graders talking about boys for the first time. Rachel was the first one to get a hold of herself and begin the conversation again.

"Wait, but is he gay?"

"I don't really know, but I don't think he is. He seemed to be checking out Santana earlier."

"Well, everyone checks out Santana, so that doesn't really say anything."

Rachel took a second to think about what Kurt had just said and became _very_ excited.

"Wait, you said he may be straight, that means there might be a chance for me! And if he's as cute as you say he is, he may be what I need to make Finn jealous!"

Kurt just shook his head.

"Rachel Berry you are a truly hopeless case. I'm going to go to class before your blatant insanity starts rubbing off."

"Well, fine, but don't get all huffy if he really does turn out to be straight."

Kurt stuck out his tongue at Rachel before they said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.

He had gone to his class and though they had been taking notes on the French Revolution for the test tomorrow, Kurt could not stay focused. His notebook was filled with doodles of _him_, and of hearts and of anything and of everything that reminded him of the boy in the number 42 jersey.

The bell rang, and all of the students quickly rushed out of class, eager to be first in line for lunch. But today, Kurt didn't care. He dreamily made his way out of the classroom and down the hallway to his locker. He was only about a foot away when a large, hulking figure turned the corner and barreled down the hallway. Students seemed to step to the side to avoid the brutish form making his way through the school. Usually Kurt is more attentive, usually he knows to keep his head down and move out of the way. But then again, Kurt is usually not distracted by an image of hazel eyes.

The figure moving through the halls was the right guard on the football team, Karofsky. And he had a certain, dislike of Kurt, which could not be cured. Karofsky antagonized Kurt every chance he got, letting no opportunity to make some rude comment go unnoticed. And today was no different.

As he passed by Kurt, who was still in his own dreamland, he used the full weight of his body to slam Kurt into the lockers. A feeling Kurt was used to, but today it was different, today it felt like a personal insult to Kurt, and to what he was thinking. What made his feelings especially poignant was the abusive, venom-filled comment that followed.

"Watch it, lady."

Kurt quickly got up and brushed himself off, hoping that not too many people had noticed. However, today not even _Karofsky_ could knock him off of cloud nine. His thoughts were stuck on the boy with the hazel eyes, and the piercing gaze, and the-

_Stop it Kurt, just stop. You don't even know if he's gay._

And though he told himself that same phrase over and over, it was no use. And he was counting down the seconds until practice, and until he could see _that boy_ again.

* * *

Today wasn't one of Blaine's finer days. Class was horrible – he had been out for too long and wasn't used to sitting in a desk for hours on end. His hair had not agreed with him this morning and he had forgotten his lunch money at home. His hair was a mess and his stomach was grumbling but there was one beacon of light at the end of the tunnel.

Football practice.

And today, Cheerio's practice was cancelled at the last minute, which meant no cheerleaders, which meant that there would be no boy to mess with his head and who he was trying to be. Which meant it was just Blaine and the field.

_No Cheerios, no boy, no delightfully gorgeous bo- No. Stop it, I can't think like that._

Blaine entered the locker rooms, and was relived. No one stared, no one pointed, and everyone knew who he was. It was nothing like his first day at WMHS and it was far from his experiences at his old school.

But Blaine was still nervous, he still _was_ the 'new kid' and which meant every move he made was still being judged. He began to panic inwardly.

_Wait, I don't know what we're even doing today. I'm sure they don't do scrimmages _every day. _Oh my god, I'm going to look like such an idiot. I'm going to have no idea what to do and I'll probably just end up standing there, staring at everyone awkwardly._

Luckily, all of Blaine's fears were put to rest once he stepped out onto the field. He was immediately called over with the rest of the group to begin drills, not even given a chance to wonder what to do. Blaine was too focused on learning new drills to let his mind drift to that mysterious boy for too long, and for the most part he was doing pretty well. He didn't trip too many times, and he was a lot faster than most of the others. But still in the very back of his mind was the image of that boy. That boy who had so captured his attention, and who he was now desperately trying to forget.

Practice had ended and while walking back to the locker rooms Finn caught up with him.

"So how was your second day of school?"

"Eh, not so great. Pretty boring"

"Well you were doin' pretty good during the drills today."

"Thanks! Cool, I've actually never even played a sport before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I played some polo and did a bit of fencing at my old school, but that's pretty much it."

"Uh, cool?"

_Smooth move, Blaine. Nice. Real nice._

"Well anyways, me and some of the boys are going to get together at my place and play a little Call of Duty this weekend, wanna join?"

Blaine was shocked. He had just made a complete fool out of himself, and even so, the quarterback of the football team still wanted to hang out with him. So without another thought, he quickly agreed.

"Uh, yeah! Sure!"

"Awesome!"

"Well, I guess I'll see you then."

But Finn had already walked to far ahead to hear Blaine's reply, so he looked like he was talking to the air.

_God, why am I such a dork?_

Save for that one moment, Blaine had been doing very well. The other guys seemed to be warming up to him, and he wasn't too shabby when it came to actually playing football. It almost felt like some cheesy "made for TV" movie, where the new kid gets tons of friends and becomes extremely popular, but when the movie has about a half hour left to go, there's some easily predictable plot twist. What that plot twist would be, Blaine didn't want know. As of right now everything was normal, and he was determined to keep it that way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here you go :) as promised. I also want to thank all you guys for your wonderful reviews. You make this so much more worth writing! 3**

* * *

Chapter 3

Rachel: So how'd practice go?

Kurt: Got cancelled… :/

Rachel: Seriously?

Kurt: Yeah. But w/e. I'm over it. He wasn't that cute anyways.

Rachel: Well that was fast!

Kurt: What did you expect? I don't even know who he is.

Rachel: Idk. Something. I mean, you didn't know Finn at first.

Kurt: Can you let that go please.

Rachel: Just sayin, it's not like you to give up so easily.

Kurt: Why are you still hung up on this?

Rachel: Why aren't you?

Kurt: Rach it was a guy. There are a lot of them.

Oh! I'm sorry! That's a new thing for you isn't it?

I'm sorry. Just a weird day…

Rachel: Its fine. Just warn me next time you're on your period ;)

Kurt: Lol will do.

* * *

Blaine had been so eager for the approaching weekend. So eager in fact, that the thought of the boy cheerleader had been thrown to the back of his mind. His head was too filled with excitement of the prospect of just hanging out with the guys, and not worrying about what they were really thinking about him.

For the first time in a long time, he was hanging out with friends. That word felt so unfamiliar to him, _friends_. He hadn't had any for so long that the concept now seemed foreign. And now this foreign concept had become something new and exciting that he was rediscovering bit by bit.

Today, he was just going to be a normal guy, on a normal football team, with normal friends, and it was all just… perfectly normal. And this was exactly how Blaine preferred it.

There they sat, the five of them, Blaine, Puck, Finn, Sam, and Mike, all huddled around the T.V., game controllers in hand, completely entranced by the insane acts of violence occurring on screen. Usually, Puck was the one with the highest kill streak, winning every round, and defeating every enemy.

But not today.

Blaine was, to put it nicely, completely kicking their asses. Something Puck was not happy about.

"God dammit, Anderson!"

"Well, I'm not gonna say I'm sorry about that last one…"

"I can't believe you! I was about to get a 20 kill streak and you killed me, asshole!"

"Suck it up." Sam called out.

Finally fed up, as this had been going on for the past three games, Puck dove across the table separating the two and lunged at Blaine, then wrestled the controller out of his hands.

"Ha!"

"Dammit!"

"Take that, Anderson!"

"So not fair!"

Sam lightly nudged him.

"Don't take it too personally, Blaine. Puck's a bit of a sore loser."

"Not as sore as your mom was last night!"

"Oh it is _on_!"

The two boys became more engulfed in the game for a good moment or so. Puck cried out in anger as Sam threw his hands up in the air in triumph.

"Yeah! What was that about being CoD king Puck?"

Mike snickered.

"I'm pretty sure he lost that title after he got his ass whooped by the new kid."

"Shut up! It's this damn controller. It's busted or something."

Finn smirked

"You sure it's not just your ego that's busted?"

"No, but your face is gonna be once I blow it off with my M4."

"Except I just killed you."

"Dammit."

The boys all laughed. Blaine just sat there awkwardly watching them play, yet on the inside, he was just glad to be hanging out with the guys.

"Hey Finn, you got anything to drink?"

"Uh, yeah. There should be some sodas in the fridge down stairs."

"Alright, cool"

Blaine left the room, along with the sounds of guns being fired and disappointed groans, mostly coming from Puck, who seemed to be having an off day.

Blaine just smiled to himself as he went down the stairs. It had been so long since he had actually had fun, and now, here he was.

_I think this school is going to be really good for me._

As he stepped off of the stairs and turned down the hallway he heard a voice coming from the kitchen.

"Finn! For the last time my organic mayonnaise is for my _hair_! Not your disgusting, poorly made sandwiches!"

Blaine, shocked, walked into the kitchen.

"I didn't know Finn had sis-"

His body froze and fell numb. In front of him stood not a girl, but a boy. A boy with sandy brown hair and bluish-grey eyes and porcelain skin.

_Oh my god._

Neither of them could speak as they stood, staring at each other. Both were completely awestruck, seeing each other up-close for the first time. On the outside, Kurt was calm, cool, and collected. But on the inside, his heart was pounding.

_I have to say something. I can't just stand here! He's going to think I'm crazy._

Kurt gained control of himself and spoke.

"He doesn't have a sister. I'm his stepbrother, Kurt"

Kurt then held out his hand, waiting for Blaine to do the same.

_Oh, um hand. My hand…what is he doing- Oh right, handshake…I uh, I need to move my hand. _

Try as he might, he couldn't get his hand to function and instead just stared blankly at Kurt's.

"Okay then…"

Kurt withdrew his hand and Blaine, who at this point had become completely brain dead, tried to ask him for one of the sodas in the fridge.

"I, uh, sod-. I need a…"

_Jeeze! Blaine, grab a hold of yourself. Calm down and just ask him for a damn soda._

Blaine tried to speak again, but no words came out so he simply pointed at the cans of soda, hoping Kurt would realize what he was trying to do.

"Um, would you like a soda?"

Blaine, who was glad to have been understood, nodded his head up and down, slightly resembling an excited puppy. Kurt handed him a soda, and as Blaine reached for it, their hands met.

It was electric; they immediately looked at each other, and then quickly drew their hands away, both a bit shy about what just happened.

Blaine, trying desperately to conserve whatever potential coolness he had left, casually opened the can, and went to lean on the counter. Unfortunately his elbow missed the counter top by just a few inches and he stumbled, dropping the open can of orange soda all over the floor.

The loud crash of the can on tile broke Blaine out of his dazed state.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Here, lemme-"

Blaine was the first to reach for the napkins

"No its fine, I got it."

Kurt grabbed some napkins and the two of them began to clean the sticky mess.

"God, I am so sorry."

"It's fine. Really."

They finished with the mess and stood up.

Once standing, Kurt let out a small, nervous chuckle and Blaine just smiled at him. After a few moments of silence Kurt gave an uncomfortable cough.

"So…uh…aren't you the new running back?"

"What- oh um, running back- Oh, that's me! Yup, I'm Blaine Anderson."

"Nice to meet you, Blaine"

Kurt held out his hand once again, and this time Blaine was able to bring his hand up to meet Kurt's.

They once again felt the thrill of touching each other. But this time, they were not as shy and held on for a bit longer, letting the pleasure run through them.

A loud voice sounded from Finn's room, breaking them out of their trance.

"Hey Blaine! Hurry up! We're starting a new game!"

Kurt smiled.

"You better hurry. By the sound of what's been going on in there Puck's probably very eager to start without you."

"Yeah. Well,"

Blaine looked down and realized that their hands were still clasped, and with much regret he broke his hand free.

"It was nice to meet you, Kurt. See you around"

"Au revoir."

Kurt gave a small sigh as he walked away.

Blaine smacked his head while he headed back up the stairs.

_Smooth Blaine! Real freaking smooth! That wasn't obvious at all!_

Once he entered the room, Finn immediately spoke up.

"Hey, didn't you say you were going to get a soda?"

"Oh, right, soda" He chuckled, "I guess I got distracted."

* * *

Kurt: Holy shit!

Rachel: What?

Kurt: He's HERE!

Rachel: Who?

Kurt: The boy!

Rachel: 42?

Kurt: YES!

Rachel: I'm coming over!

Kurt: What?

Rachel: Wait, is Finn there too?

Kurt: Um, yeah. Why?

Rachel: Be there in 5

Kurt: Wait, what? No.

Rachel: Omw

Kurt: Ha. You're funny.

Rachel?

RACHEL!

Rachel: Here :)

* * *

A knock came at the door. Burt Hummel immediately got up to answer it.

"NO! Noooo dad! It's okay I got it, I got it!"

Kurt practically threw himself in front of the door to keep Burt from opening it.

"What? I can't open the door?"

"Nope. No you can't. Go ahead and sit, I got it."

The doorbell rang once more.

"Look, Kurt, they rang again just open the door."

"Okay I will."

And yet Kurt just stood there, waiting for his father to take the hint and go sit back down.

"Go ahead, open it."

"Yup, sure thing."

Rachel began to ring the doorbell furiously, in response Kurt smacked the door with a closed fist, and smiled to his father as if nothing had happened.

The ringing stopped.

"Kurt, just open the door and let them in!"

"I know, dad, I will. In just a second."

_Finally_ Burt realized what Kurt was trying to say.

"Oh, okay. I get it, I get it. I'll go sit down and let you tend to this yourself."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

Kurt spun around and cracked open the door.

"Rachel! Go away!"

"No! I wanna see him! This is not fair!"

"Rachel, you are officially psychotic! Now leave!"

"Oh come on! Just let me see him! What possible harm could that do?"

"If it's you? A lot! No would you-"

Rachel pushed her way through the door and before he could stop her, she ran up stairs.

"Rachel! Get back-…dammit!"

Kurt followed her upstairs in what he knew was a futile attempt to stop her.

_This is great. First she got Finn, now she's trying to get Blaine. It's like she's trying to ruin my life. _

Rachel poked her head into Finn's room and waved.

"Hi Finn!"

"Oh, um hi, Rachel."

Kurt heard the ensuing conversation and knew he could not go in there, not without Blaine seeing him, and that was the last thing he wanted right now.

_Oh my god Rachel. I can't go into his room, ugh Blaine will see me and he'll think I'm a stalker. I am going to kill that girl, I swear…_

"So, how's it going?"

"….good."

"Cool." She said with a girlish giggle. And then she spotted Blaine

"Ohmygod…Are you Blaine?"

"Yeah... I'm Blaine…and you are?"

"I'm Rach-"

Kurt realized that this was going too far and quickly grabbed Rachel's arm and snatched her out of the room. Kurt then dragged her down the hall into his room and slammed the door.

"Remind again why I'm friends with you."

Rachel squealed.

"Oh my god, Kurt! He's so cute!"

"Yeah. I know." Kurt said with dismay.

"Did you talk to him?"

"What? Yeah."

"And?"

"And nothing. He just came down to get soda."

"You are absolutely no fun!"

"Well we talked for like five seconds but that was it."

"Did you ask him if he's-"

"Of course not!"

"Why not? Here, I'll ask him."

"Rachel! Stop, you've done enough already."

"What? Why?"

"Because he-…Downstairs, when we talked, he couldn't even say two words to me. He was so uncomfortable to be around someone like me and-"

"What do you mean 'someone like you'?"

Kurt just ignored her question and kept talking.

"I just…I don't want to waste any more time on him. Yes, he's cute. Very cute." Kurt almost slipped back into his previous dreamland, but swiftly snapped out of it, "But he's just like all those other guys and neither I nor you stand a chance."

"That's exactly what you said about Finn."

"Yeah and look how that turned out."

"True."

Kurt sat down on his bed let out a breath of frustration. Rachel took a second to think.

"If you want, I can stay and we can watch "Rent" and sing along."

Kurt didn't answer and continued to stare off in anguish.

"And Gypsy? I'll let you sing all of Rose's songs. Actually, how about we whip out your whole Musical DVD collection. A little marathon?"

A little half smirk appeared on Kurt's face, but he was still uncertain.

"And makeovers! We'll do makeovers and invite Mercedes!"

Kurt smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Darn you for knowing my weaknesses."

"So is that a yes?"

"Yes! Go grab the DVDs. I'll call Mercedes."

"Yay!"

Upon realizing that letting Rachel leave the room was just an excuse for her to stop by Finn's room once again, he quickly changed his mind.

"Actually, why don't I grab the DVDs, you can go ahead and call Mercedes."

Rachel looked disappointed and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine."

Kurt smiled. As much as he wanted _someone_ like him around, it was still nice to have his girlfriends be here for him. After all, makeovers and musicals were almost enough to make him forget Blaine. _Almost_.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_Kurt._

For the rest of the weekend that one word occupied his mind. Kurt. It wasn't some exotic name, just a name. But something about it felt…magical. Every time he thought of it a smile grew on his face. Kurt. A simple, four lettered word. And yet, it had such an impact on Blaine. He knew he probably shouldn't have been thinking about it so much. But just _thinking_ seemed harmless. It wasn't like he was acting upon it. He had every right to find someone attractive.

He was thinking about Kurt all of the time now. When he was eating dinner, Kurt. When he was doing his homework, Kurt. When he was reading a book, Kurt.

When he went to the guidance counselor to change his schedule so he was taking a harder math class, Kurt.

And when he walked into said classroom,

_Kurt_.

Blaine sucked in a sharp breath. There he was: the boy cheerleader. Sitting by the window in Ms. Johnson's second period calculus class, the sun shining down on his porcelain face and casting a shadow across his skin. Blaine could feel his heart skip a beat. The door clicked shut and Kurt looked up to see who had entered. Their eyes met, and held for perhaps a moment too long.

"Hello. Hello? Are you Blaine, Blaine Anderson?"

Kurt nodded meaningfully at Blaine, snapping him out of the trance that Kurt had put him in.

"Oh, yes, I'm Blaine. I transferred into your class." He replied to Ms. Johnson, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from Kurt.

"I'm well aware."

The class giggled and Blaine's cheeks flushed a slight pink color. Kurt just smiled and kept his eyes glued on Blaine.

"Well," Ms. Johnson continued, "The only open seat is,"

_Is next to Kurt._

Blaine had noticed the second he walked into the room.

"Is by Mr. Hummel, go ahead and take a seat. We were just about to start today's lesson: Logarithms!"

The entire class groaned, but Blaine just nodded absentmindedly and walked over to sit next to Kurt.

Blaine wasn't sure whether to speak, or stay quiet, or ignore him, or apologize for spilling that soda. On the inside they were both _extremely_ glad to see each other, but on the outside they could only stare at the other in a sort of, fascination.

Neither of them was listening to the teacher, they were just waiting. Waiting to see who would break the invisible barrier and speak first.

Both of the boys seemed to be holding their breath, until finally Kurt opened his mouth and whispered a shy,

"Hello."

Blaine let out the breath he had been holding in and replied.

"Hey."

Before his cheeks flushed with color again and he promptly looked down to hide his face. Blaine began to pull his notebook and a pencil out of his bag before speaking again.

_Say something Blaine. You can't just sit there!_

He stared down at his notebook, trying to think of what to say before blurting out,

"Fancy meeting you here." He responded without looking at Kurt. Blaine was still too shy around him.

_That was so stupid! Who even says that anymore?_

Kurt quickly uttered

"You don't happen to have a can of orange soda do you?"

Blaine was surprised that Kurt had even replied. He thought he had made such a fool of himself. But Kurt actually found it quite charming.

Blaine shot him a sidelong glance and gave the boy cheerleader one of his goofy half-smiles.

"No, as a matter of fact I don't."

The two of them quietly laughed at their inside joke.

Kurt glanced up at Ms. Johnson to make sure she wasn't watching them. She was usually so perceptive but today her back was turned to the class as she busily wrote equations on the board.

Kurt turned his head back to Blaine.

"So what brings you to this class? Haven't you been here for like a week already?"

"Yeah but the class they put me in before was too easy."

That invisible barrier between them was slowly crumbling as they got more and more comfortable talking to each other.

"Hmm, smart _and_ a jock. Way to break the stereotype."

_Oh trust me, that's not the only way I'm breaking it…_

Blaine grinned and suppressed the thought.

"Yeah, I guess."

They both focused their attention back to the teacher. Blaine started writing in his notebook and in about fifteen minutes his closed it. Kurt glanced at him.

"Giving up already?" he joked.

"Nope. Finished."

"Well don't get too good. I don't want them to move you out. You may be the only thing that keeps me awake."

Blaine got in a quick smile before Ms. Johnson, the witch of a woman, whipped her whole body around at glared straight at the two boys.

"_Mr. Anderson, _considering that you are new to my class I will let you in on a little secret. I do _not_ tolerate talking while I am teaching, so either you keep quiet or you will find out what it feels like to be sent to the principal's office!"

Blaine seemed to shrink back into his seat.

"And you, Mr. Hummel! You have been in my class for quite a few weeks already. You should know better than to disrespect me when I am teaching! One more word out of you, and I'll send you BOTH straight to the principal's office."

Kurt too, shrunk back. However, as scared as they were, the moment Ms. Johnson faced the board again they both let out small giggles and continued talking again in what can only be described as voices softer than the whistling of wind.

Finally the hazy cloud that surrounded Blaine's head whenever he looked at this beautiful man cleared and he got a grip on his sanity. He quickly found how amazing and easy it was to talk to Kurt, all while being able to _actually_ play it cool. And he started to wonder why he wanted to avoid him in the first place. Talking wasn't a bad thing. Who knows, maybe they could be friends. There's no harm in just being friends. No pressure, no…urges, no possibility of becoming _more_ than friends. It was harmless. Or so Blaine had hoped.

* * *

Kurt: He's really nice.

Rachel: Who?

Kurt: Blaine.

Rachel: You talked to him?

Kurt: He just got put in one of my classes.

Rachel: Luckyyyyy

Kurt: lol rachel calm down.

Rachel: How come you're the one that always gets to talk to him when I'm the one who may actually have a chance?

Kurt: Because I don't come with a huge sign on my head that says "stay back. I'm clinically insane"

Rachel: Rude.

Kurt: lol sorry.

Rachel: No you're not

Kurt: :)

* * *

Blaine sat at the desk in his room doing homework. Or more of, trying to do his homework. He already knew most of the material, it was from classes that he had to retake over the summer because he had failed them the first time around. It's not that he was dumb, far from it actually, it was that he hadn't shown up to those classes often enough. Hadn't wanted to. Blaine couldn't stand that school. The constant threats, the stares when he walked through the halls, the whispered rumors everywhere he went. The fights he always came out of looking much worse than his opponent. It was not a good time in his life, and he preferred to not think about it.

Blaine heard the door to his bedroom open and immediately grabbed his pencil and pretended to write, thinking that it was his father.

"Chill, it's just me. Dad's already asleep."

"Oh. Hey, Coop. What's up?"

"Not much. Here to rescue you from the torture that is homework."

"Thank god!"

"I do what I can."

Blaine smiled. Cooper sat down on the bed. Blaine knew what he had come in here to talk about and neither of them was looking forward to it.

The room was dead silent for only a few seconds, though it seemed like hours before Cooper began to speak.

"So how's school been? Anyone giving you a hard time?"

Coop sneaked a look at Blaine.

"Nope. Everyone thinks I'm perfectly normal."

Blaine was staring right at Cooper, not daring to look away.

"You _are_ perfectly normal."

Blaine let out a small and painful laugh.

"You know what I mean."

"I just… it's not fair that you can't be yourself. If you had gone to Dalton-"

Cooper still watched him, but when Blaine spoke again, he no longer eyed his brother; he instead looked down at his hands, almost ashamed of what he was saying, and who he was.

"Coop, just let it go. We both know there was no way Dad would've let me go there."

"Well you should have gone there in the first place."

"Trust me. If I had known my 'real high school experience' was gonna turn out like it did, I would have."

Blaine said it a little more harshly than he really wanted to and immediately felt bad about it.

Cooper fixed his eyes on the ground, clearly upset.

"Coop?"

No response.

"Cooper? C'mon."

Still no response.

Blaine finally rose from his desk and sat down next to his brother, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. And besides, I really like McKinley. I have friends and Dad's happy and have you noticed him and Mom have stopped fighting so much?" He was desperately trying to make everything sound like it was okay. "Things are better this way. Everyone's happy."

Cooper looked up at Blaine.

"Yeah, you're right, everyone's happy. _Except you."_

"That's not fair."

He let his hand fall off of Cooper's shoulder.

"You shouldn't be spending the best four years of your life trying to hide who you really are and letting everyone make friends with a person they _think_ they know."

Blaine turned away from his brother, ashamed that what he was saying was true. But he immediately turned back to face Cooper with venom in his voice.

"Yeah, well, the first year wasn't so hot, so I'm okay with settling during the next three."

Upon hearing that, Cooper shot up from where he was sitting and began uttering frantically, trying to keep from raising his voice.

"Dammit Blaine! You shouldn't _be_ settling! That's exactly what I'm trying to say, you deserve so much more than how you were treated last year, and sitting here, just accepting these insane thoughts that people will only like you if you're straight is just, just crazy."

Blaine stood up and matched his brother's tone.

"I get what you're trying to say, but I've got so much going for me right now, I just don't want to ruin it. I may not be so blissful that I'm running through a field of freaking daisies like you apparently think I should be, but I can go to school, and not have to worry who is going to beat me up next."

Blaine knew it was a bit of a low blow to bring that up. Cooper was already too over protective of his little brother. And he still felt so horrible about what had happened to Blaine last year and how, even though he had tried his best, nothing had gotten better. But it did calm him down, and he really thought about where Blaine was coming from before speaking again, in a softer, more caring tone.

"You know I only want what's best for you right?"

Blaine pulled Cooper into a hug.

"Yes, and right now," Blaine took his brother by the shoulders so he could look him in the eye, "what's best for me is just letting everyone believe that I'm straight. I need you to just accept that for now."

"For now, I will" Cooper let out a breath and looked as if he wanted to say more, but kept his mouth shut.

Blaine's eyes flicked to back to his desk.

"I should keep working on my homework now."

He got up and walked over to his desk, as he was sitting down Cooper spoke.

"I'm just trying to help you out here."

Blaine turned his head to look his brother in the eye.

"I know, Coop, thank you." Blaine gave a sincere smile. He then picked up his pencil and tried to focus on his homework again.

Cooper went to leave the room and as he was about to shut the door he looked down at his brother.

"Hey."

Blaine glanced up

"What?"

"Love you, Blaine"

"Love you too, Coop. Good night."

"Night."

Cooper quietly closed the door and let Blaine get back to work.

There he sat, completing his assignments, one by one. Blaine was filling his head with the battles of WW1, logarithms, and anything else, trying not to focus too much on the previous conversation.

He was happy, he had friends, he was on the football team, and no one was bullying him. But Blaine couldn't be himself. He wasn't _truly_ happy. But this school was better than his last, and for now that's all he cared about.

Blaine finished his homework and put his books back in his bag, then almost went over to his closet to pick out an outfit for tomorrow. This is when he remembered that he's the new Blaine.

This Blaine doesn't pick out outfits; he wears tee-shirts and jeans.

And this Blaine doesn't like boys.

With a sigh, he got into his pajamas and slipped into bed. The argument had exhausted him, and he fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been about a week and a half since Blaine transferred into Kurt's class. Each and every day both of the boys were the first to arrive, and the last to leave, cherishing the 'alone time' they got to spend with each other. They were always whispering and giggling, and getting constant glares from Ms. Johnson. She really was just all bark and no bite, yelling threats of detention every other day, but never carrying through. Not that Kurt wouldn't _mind_ spending an extra hour with Blaine in detention.

Sharing a class with seats right next to each other was amazing, seeing each other every day, hearing the other's voice. All while completely ignoring whatever Ms. Johnson happened to be teaching that day.

Every day they talked about mindless things, the Cheerios, movies, music, even food. Kurt found talking to Blaine to be endearing. He loved getting to know him, even if Blaine did tend to change the conversation whenever Kurt brought up his old school. Try as he might, he couldn't help but to feel he was falling for him. Everything about him was just so…_charming. _He accepted the fact that he didn't have a chance with him, but he also accepted the fact that you can't choose who you like. All the same, though he knew his feelings probably ran a little deeper, he liked becoming friends with Blaine.

Kurt filled with excitement as the bell rang at the end of his first period class. He rushed to his locker and grabbed his math book, only pausing long enough to make sure his hair looked just right.

Kurt entered the classroom and took his seat, then waited patiently for Blaine, though he didn't have to wait long. Blaine followed in shortly after and the two of them almost immediately began chatting.

"Bonjour."

Kurt was always the first to speak, but he still blushed every time he greeted Blaine.

"Hey."

Blaine laughed as he set his book down, and then continued the conversation.

"You're coach scares the shit out of me"

Kurt just shrugged his shoulders.

"Coach Sue? Yeah she can be a little…well…"

"Evil?"

"Yeah, yep that sounds about right."

They both smiled and Kurt let out a small chuckle.

"What made you think of her, anyways?"

"Oh I saw her in the hallway yelling at some Asian girl."

Kurt shook his head as he spoke.

"If you even knew _half_ of the things she does to all of us Glee kids and especially Mr. Schue-"

"Mr. Schue?"

"He's the Glee director. He's also a Spanish teacher."

"Oh, I don't think I've seen him. I'm not taking a language right now."

"He's hard to miss. Kinda has a Gene Kelley look to him"

Blaine let out a beaming and slightly dorky smile.

"Oh my god, I love Gene Kelley."

Kurt looked at him shocked.

_Whoa. Didn't see that one coming. Handsome, smart, AND culturally educated._

"You do?"

Blaine once again looked like an excited puppy.

"Yeah. 'Singing in the Rain' is one of my favorite movies of all time."

Blaine wondered if he said too much, most high school football players aren't too educated on classic musicals.

Kurt just beamed at him.

_Could you be anymore perfect?_

Kurt then wondered if he should invite Blaine to a movie night he was having.

_I want to...but he'll probably just say no…But then again, he actually knows who Gene Kelley is… And he is so cute._

Finally Kurt spoke,

"You know, two of my friends and I do these 'Classic Musical Movies Nights' once a month and we're gonna watch 'Singing in the Rain' this weekend and if you want you could join us."

Blaine blurted out without even thinking.

"That sounds awesome! Who else is coming?"

Kurt swiftly answered,

"My friend Mercedes."

Blaine gave Kurt a confused half-smile,

"Umm, you said friends… who else?"

Kurt mumbled a name.

"Ra-"

"What?"

This time only a little bit louder.

"Rach-"

"Who?"

Kurt just bit the bullet and said it, maybe a bit _too_ loud this time.

"Rachel!"

Ms. Johnson flashed him a quick glare and Kurt mouthed the word 'sorry' before turning back to Blaine.

"Wait, is Rachel the girl who-"

"Yeah, my crazy friend who used to date Finn. The one who invaded his room a few weeks ago when you guys were playing your video games."

Blaine looked a bit uneasy.

"Oh her."

"Yeah…" Kurt looked at him apologetically.

"Umm," Blaine looked like he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Oh, she's not _that_ bad! I'll make sure she doesn't drool over you _too _much."

Blaine seemed a bit surprised and laughed,

"She drools over me?"

"Yup, I'm afraid she does."

"Well, that's….interesting."

"Oh, god. I just scared you off didn't I?" Kurt blurted out.

"No, no, not at all. I'm just not really used to having girls 'drool' over me."

"Really? I mean you're so…"

Kurt stopped speaking, wide eyed that he had almost let slip his little crush on Blaine, but luckily Blaine hadn't realized what Kurt was about to say.

Kurt was silent for a second, too flustered to say anything and just sat there waiting for Blaine to speak. Finally he opened his mouth.

"So umm, what day is it again?"

"You mean you'll come?" Kurt's whole face lit up.

"Well, of course! Why do you think I'm asking what day it is?"

Kurt let out a small laugh.

"Oh, right. Umm it's this Saturday at like 7:30."

"Great I'll be there!"

Just as Kurt was about to reply, the bell rang and they quickly packed up their stuff and left the room.

Kurt could not believe this. Blaine was actually coming over to his house. It's not like he hadn't been there before, but this time he was coming over to see Kurt, not Finn. His pulse raced and his face was filled with a smile. Kurt looked down to find his phone, which was somewhere in his bag. He had to text Rachel, this was amazing. No this was more than amazing this was spectacul-

Kurt's train of thought was interrupted as he felt two large, rough, unfriendly hands slam into his chest and shove him into the lockers behind.

Kurt didn't have to look up to see who had done it, he already knew. It was his constant tormentor, the reason he no longer changed in the locker rooms for Cheerios practice for fear of being hurt. It was Karofsky.

Kurt's breath stuttered a bit from the force of the blow to his ribs and lungs. His ears ringing as he scrambled to grab his phone, which he had dropped during the attack. Kurt stood shakily as students passed by, not one person offering a bit of help.

It was very unlikely that no one saw, chances are, no one cared.

It was strange, this shove. Normally Karofsky just used his shoulder to bump Kurt into the lockers, but this time, it was different. He had used his hands to slam Kurt into the hard metal behind him. This had never happened before, it was always the shoulders. Never the hands.

_Why me?_

It was a question he had always asked himself, but could never quite answer.

Kurt straightened his clothes and began to walk again, for the first time having to brush away a single tear that had managed to escape from his eyes.

* * *

Finally, it was Saturday, and Kurt was too excited to sleep, only managing a few hours of rest. When he woke, he started with a trip to the store; getting three different kinds of popcorn, five different bags of candy, and a meat and cheese platter. And of course a bottle of orange soda.

As soon as he got home, Kurt had Finn help him bring the couch up to his bedroom since he figured Blaine wouldn't be too comfortable sitting on a bed with him. Friends or not, Blaine was straight and Kurt knew all too well how guys reacted to situations like that.

After literally _hours_ of preparation the clock finally struck 7:30.

Rachel, of course, was the first to show up. They gave each other a big hug then headed up the stairs while Rachel explained that she was wearing "the cutest pjs that she owned."

She then took it upon herself to poke her head into Finn's room to tell him that she 'was there to be with Kurt' and that she had 'moved on from him' and 'found someone else more suitable for her care and talent'. Finn didn't even look up from his phone when he muttered a quick

"Oh, hey Rachel." After she had finished her little speech.

Mercedes was next, eager to finally meet this Blaine kid that Rachel wouldn't shut up about. She went straight up to Kurt's room and immediately started eating the snacks.

And then at last, Blaine. He, of course, wasn't spending the night like the other two. However, he still chose to show up in his pajamas.

Kurt opened the door, and drank in the sight of Blaine. His hair was slightly messy, and simply begging for Kurt to run his hands through it. The white v-neck shirt was a bit too tight, showing of Blaine's chiseled arms and muscular chest. And the thin flannel pants he was wearing made Kurt feel weak in the knees.

_God, his arms are just, and his hair, oh my god-…shit! Kurt calm down._

Kurt was feeling a bit dazed and just gave Blaine a sheepish grin.

"Hey!"

Blaine said with a charming smile, making Kurt melt even more.

"Hope I'm not too late."

Kurt dreamily replied,

"No, not at all!"

After staring at Blaine for perhaps a second too long, Kurt finally spoke,

"Come on in Blaine, glad to have you over."

_Very glad._

Kurt led Blaine up the stairs, made a quick stop at Finn's room so Blaine could say 'Hi' then headed to Kurt's room.

When they entered, the two girls were sitting on the couch with their feet up on the coffee table along with all of the snacks Kurt had bought earlier.

"Hey girls." Kurt said

They both turned around at the same time and Kurt could have sworn he saw their jaws literally drop. Kurt took a deep breath, trying to ignore their reactions. Rachel's, in particular.

"Well, um, Blaine, this is Mercedes."

Mercedes smiled and wiggled her fingers.

"Hi."

Blaine smiled back.

"'Sup"

Kurt practically mumbled his next words.

"And of course you've met Rachel…"

"Hi Blaine!"

"Um…hi Rachel. It's nice seeing you again." Blaine said in a polite, yet slightly awkward way.

"Oh my god, you remembered?"

Blaine just stared at her, more than a little freaked out.

Mercedes was at the far end of the couch, with Rachel on her right.

Rachel immediately patted the spot next to her and said eagerly

"Blaine you can sit right next to me! We can cuddle!"

"Uh…"

Kurt stepped in to save Blaine from an hour and forty-three minutes of torture.

"Rachel, I'm sitting next to you, _remember?"_

She gave a small pout,

"Fine."

Blaine mouthed a 'thank you' to Kurt, who simply nodded his head. They all crammed themselves onto the small couch, and hit play on the movie.

The movie night was relatively normal; Rachel, Mercedes, and Kurt belted out every song as Blaine seemed to quietly hum to himself, they threw food at each other, made jokes, recited scenes verbatim, and Blaine even seemed to warm up to Rachel a little.

At one point in the movie, the music died down and room suddenly felt very quiet.

Kurt was immediately aware of how close he was to Blaine. Their thighs were touching and, had it not been for the cup of orange soda Blaine was holding in his left hand, their arms would be brushing up close. It was quiet enough that Kurt could hear Blaine's breathing and he wondered if Blaine could hear his heartbeat speeding up.

Finally the music picked up again and Kurt was less nervous, allowing himself to breath normally again.

Blaine turned to Kurt, the cramped space making their faces super close.

"Wanna kiss?"

Kurt was shocked at how forward Blaine was being.

"I...uh-what?"

Blaine repeated his question.

"Would you like a chocolate kiss?"

Kurt looked down at Blaine's hand and realized that it was filled with small, silvery candies. Blaine just stared at Kurt waiting for an answer, oblivious to the double meaning of the question he had asked.

"Oh." Kurt felt his heart rate going back to normal. "Sure I'd love one, thanks."

Though he was glad Blaine hadn't just asked him for an _actual_ kiss, Kurt was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be kissing those lips tonight.

As the night went on, the four of them grew tired. The sun had gone down, and the quiet glow of the TV screen was their only source of light.

Kurt's lack of sleep was really starting to show. Kurt's eyes would begin to flutter shut, and then he would immediately jolt awake. But finally he could fight it no longer, and he fell asleep with his head resting on Blaine's shoulder.

Blaine immediately noticed. He looked down at Kurt's sleeping face and just smiled. He knew that a 'normal' straight guy would have woken Kurt up. But right now, in this room, with the glow of the TV casting shadows everywhere, he decided to let Kurt sleep, enjoying the feeling of being so close.

The movie ended, and Mercedes got up to turn the lights on. Blaine saw that Rachel, too, was asleep, using Kurt as a pillow. Once the lights were on, Rachel woke, but Kurt was still sleeping like a baby.

Blaine forgot himself for a moment and gently brushed Kurt's arm with his hand

"Kurt, hey. The movie is over, you need to wake up."

Blaine said softly.

Kurt's eyes drifted open, and then he realized that he had fallen asleep on Blaine and was wide awake.

"Oh, oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, no it's alright. You looked tired, I figured I'd let you sleep."

Kurt gave a shy smile and blushed a bit. Rachel then shot Kurt a knowing look.

Blaine went from being to calm to frantic in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, shit, what time is it?" Blaine asked hectically.

Kurt glanced at his clock,

"It's 10:22. Why?"

"Dammit, my curfew is ten thirty! It takes me like 15 minutes to get home."

"You gotta go!"

Kurt was sad to see him go, but knew he had to leave.

"Umm thanks for inviting me, Kurt. Sorry I have to leave so suddenly."

"It's no problem; I know how strict parents can be about curfews."

Blaine gave quick hugs to the trio, and then rushed out of the door.

As soon as the door clicked shut and Kurt turned around to face the girls and simply said

"Not a word."

* * *

The movie night had ended too fast for Kurt's liking, and even second period felt too short. It was official.

_I have fallen for Blaine Anderson._

Kurt thought to himself as he entered the lunch line. It wasn't his fault. He had honestly tried. But he figured as long as he didn't act on it he would be fine. Or at least _consciously _act on it.

As he finished putting his salad on his plate, he heard a voice speak up next to him.

"Hey Kurt, can we talk for a sec?"

Kurt didn't have to look to see who it was. The voice was _way_ too familiar.

"Hey Finn. Sure, what's up?"

"It's about Blaine."

Kurt let out a sigh of frustration.

"We're just friends, Finn."

"Yeah maybe _he_ thinks that. But I know you, Kurt. You like him."

Kurt turned to face his step-brother and stared him straight in the eye.

"Why must you assume I like every straight guy I talk to?"

Finn attempted to defend what he was saying.

"I'm not. I just…you did this with me, then Sam who was lucky enough to slide past it unharmed but-"

Kurt could not believe his ears.

"Unharmed? Like I'm some kind of disease?"

Finn replied apologetically.

"Kurt, you know what I mean."

Kurt just glared at Finn, shooting daggers with his eyes.

"Yes, I'm afraid I know exactly what you mean."

Finn continued on in hushed tones, afraid that too many people would over hear him.

"Kurt, you know I have no problem with you being gay-"

Kurt just gave Finn a sarcastic smile.

"Just so long as I don't act on it."

"Kurt-"

"No, I get it. But whether you like it or not, Blaine is my friend and I'm not going to stop being his friend because you feel 'uncomfortable' about it. And while we're on the subject, it's not a crime to find someone attractive, so stop making me feel like some terrible person for _feeling_ something every other guy gets to feel."

They had been standing in the same spot for a while and were starting to hold up the line, but at this point Kurt could care less.

"Dammit, Kurt that's not what I'm saying. I don't care _who_ you find attractive, it's just that, well, most straight guys just aren't comfortable when they realize that a guy likes them!"

Kurt just shook his head at Finn and began to move down the line again, grabbing whatever his hand touched and placing it on his tray.

"Your total is $2.75"

Kurt handed the lunch lady his money then went to find a seat, Finn following him all the way.

Right as Kurt was reaching his destination; a lunch table filled with Rachel and Mercedes, he turned towards Finn.

In hushed tones, he made a quick end to the conversation.

"Look Finn, I get it. Straight guys have issues with gay guys, but as of right now, we are friends. _Just _friends. I know Blaine is straight, and I respect that. So I need you to respect me enough to trust that I'm not going to go jumping on top of him every chance I get. Now I am not discussing this anymore, so please just let me eat my lunch in peace."

Kurt quickly turned and sat down, leaving a stunned Finn standing there for a few seconds before he lumbered off to his own table.

Kurt closed his eyes as he sat down, trying to ignore the burning of his eye lids as he held back tears that were desperately trying to escape. Tears that were long overdue. He was tired of being alone. Tired of having those kinds of talks with people. Tired of being reprimanded for feelings every other 'normal' human being was allowed to feel. It just didn't seem fair. But he knew that was the price of being true to himself, something that seemed rare among teenagers in high school. So, just as he had done countless other times, Kurt suppressed his pain and turned to his two best friends with a fake smile plastered on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**Just a heads up for all of our readers; the next few chapters are going to get pretty rough. It's going to be focused on Kurt for a while, and there will be some very sad scenes in there, but just stick with us. We promise all of this angst will lead to some very fluffy Klaine moments.**

**Thanks again for all of the love and support, you guys are awesome :D 3**

* * *

Chapter 6

Blaine had been feeling good. He was happy. No one was trying to punch him, or torment him, or chase him down. People actually liked and accepted him, and it was a feeling that was finally settling in.

He had a new air of confidence; he was saying 'hi' to people in the hallways, he wasn't afraid to speak up in class anymore, and he always had lunch with a great group of friends. Things were so normal, and nice, and as clichéd as it was, it was still amazing. It wasn't bliss, because of course he was still unable to completely be himself, but it was the next best thing.

As Blaine entered his second period class he wasted no time getting to his seat. Kurt hadn't noticed that he entered; today he was staring blankly out a window, lightly tapping his pencil on his desk. His skin caught the sun light peering through the window. Blaine couldn't help but to smile and did his best to repress the urge to tell Kurt that he looked beautiful. Instead he took a seat in his desk and leaned over towards Kurt.

Blaine put his face as close as possible to Kurt's, then with a smirk on his face, spoke up in a voice just a bit louder than normal.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?"

Kurt nearly jumped out of his seat and dropped his pencil. Blaine leaned back in his seat, letting out thunderous laughter, then reached down to grab Kurt's pencil. Kurt gave him a playful glare.

"Oh you just think you're so hilarious, don't you?"

Blaine grinned at him as he gave back the pencil.

"A comedy genius." He said with a smirk, as he wiggled his eyebrows at Kurt.

Blaine sat back in his chair and tried to relax, which wasn't something easily done around Kurt Hummel.

"So when's the next time I get to join you in another spectacular movie night? I mean, don't get me wrong. Hanging with Finn and the guys is awesome but I can't exactly watch my favorite childhood classics with them."

Kurt giggled. Blaine put on his charming smile. He wondered if it was too much.

_Crap. Am I being too flirty? Shit, what if he can tell I like him? No. No, I don't like him. He's just attractive. That's all. There are a lot of people who are. Just really, really, really, really attractive…..and smart…and funny….and perf- Blaine! Stop it!...But he is an awesome friend. Oh shit. Has he been talking to me this entire time? _

"…and so I don't really know when we're going to have another. Maybe after Sectionals is over."

Blaine quickly tried to figure out what exactly Kurt was talking about.

"Oh yeah. Your Glee Club thing, right?"

"Yep. You know, there's still time to join. Finn, Puck, Mike and Sam are all in it too."

"Thanks, but I can't sing." Blaine said with a chuckle.

That was a lie. Blaine _loved_ singing, and he was damn good at it too. He hated that he had been scared away from it. Performing was like a drug to him. A drug that he needed to live. The thrill he got out of it, all the adrenaline that would rush through him, it was like the biggest and purest natural high he had ever experienced. He was pretty sure it was better than sex, not that he would really be able to tell.

_Maybe Kurt could help me tell the dif- God! No! Blaine this is going way too far! Snap out of it!_

"Well you could still come watch. It should be-"

"Mr. Hummel! Mr. Anderson!"

Ms. Johnson was standing there, glaring at them and shooting daggers out of her eyes. They were not sure how long she had been standing like that, but judging from the looks the whole class was giving them, it had been a while.

Both Kurt and Blaine just sunk back a bit, not daring to make a sound.

She had finally snapped.

"I see you two boys sitting there every single day." She raised a bony finger to point at the boys. "Always talking and chit-chatting away. Being rude and disrespectful every chance you get."

Her face was filled with a scowl, and Blaine couldn't be sure, but he thought he actually saw spit fly out of her mouth and land on her desk as she ranted.

"I have tried to ignore you, I really have. I've tried to be nice and humane and remain calm. But this time, I just can't handle it."

Blaine began to panic.

_Oh my god. She's going to kill us. She is actually going to murder us. I am going to die today._

"Mr. Anderson,"

_She is going to take me into her back room and chop me up into little pieces. This is the end. AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO GO TO PROM!_

Before Blaine could even work up a good panic attack, Ms. Johnson wiggled her bony finger around, pointing at Blaine,

"You will be switching seats with Ms. Zizes."

_Thank god. Wait-_

Blaine was relieved for a second until he realized that Ms. Johnson was moving him all the way over to the other side of the classroom.

"But Ms. Johnso-"

The teacher's face just turned cherry red as she jerked her whole arm to the side, pointing at Blaine's new seat, her arm fat jiggling back and forth.

Blaine knew he couldn't protest, not because Ms. Johnson was stubborn, but because he didn't want to be chopped into little pieces. He quietly packed his items, and stood up.

Blaine glanced down at Kurt, who had no words for him. Only a face containing sad puppy dog eyes, and a pouty mouth.

Blaine made his way over to Zizes's seat, the heat of Ms. Johnson's deadly glare on him the whole entire time. He plopped down in his seat, and the teacher picked right back up where her lesson had stopped.

"Now, as I was saying before; the reason logarithms are so important in this section is because…"

Blaine rested his cheek on his head, trying his best to stay awake.

_This sucks._

He looked around the room, trying to think of a way to keep himself preoccupied. His eyes just kept going back to Kurt, who looked almost as miserable as he did.

_There is no way I'm going to be able to stay awake. Unless…_

* * *

Blaine: God this lady is boring.

Lol. Your face is priceless xD

Kurt: You are ridiculous!

Blaine: Kurt I'm about to fall asleep. I need you.

Kurt: Flattered. What if we get caught?

Blaine: We won't. Live a little.

Kurt: I'm pretty sure I'm alive.

Blaine: Doesn't mean you're living.

Kurt: Your attempted profundity is adorable.

Blaine: Is that even a word?

Kurt: I don't have a choice in this do I?

Blaine: Nope :) So what was that about sectionals?

* * *

Blaine headed towards the cafeteria, a smile on his face. He pushed open the doors, and for once no one stared. He grabbed some food, and took a seat next to Finn and all of his other friends on the football team. Sam, Mike, Puck, and a few others.

'Hellos' were exchanged and the guys immediately jumped into a conversation consisting mostly of Xbox, football, and girls.

Blaine was still just a little upset about the seat change in second period. So he sat there, munching on his lunch, content to just listen, and not speak.

But one person can only listen to so much of Puck.

Blaine grabbed his iPod out of his bag, and hit shuffle. The first song began to play; Animal by Neon Trees. He just laughed. Laughed at how perfectly this song was describing how he was feeling. The smile on his face grew brighter and brighter as he stared down at his lunch, letting the music flow through him. Blaine knew the whole entire table was staring at him, he _was_ laughing to himself like an idiot, but he didn't care. Not one bit. The song ended and Blaine quickly went back to put the song on repeat. He just wanted to listen to this one song over and over again, it was utterly splendid.

And that's when Blaine realized. He realized something that made him smile so bright the sun would be unable to compete, it made his heart do back flips, and it scared him more than anything in the world.

Blaine loved Kurt. No, 'love' was too strong a word. He didn't love Kurt, not yet. It was too soon for that, much too soon. But Blaine knew that no matter how hard he tried to stop it, he was headed straight towards being head over heels about Kurt.

And Blaine was…he was terrified. But still happy and thrilled and excited. This was not something he had ever felt before. Blaine had had little crushes that died out almost as quickly as they had started, even quicker when he realized that his crush was homophobic. But this? This was more than a crush; this was something new and exciting, mostly because he knew he could have chance with Kurt.

At the back of his mind, though, Blaine had a nagging thought that wouldn't leave him alone; no matter how hard he tried to drown it out with his music. It was a simple thought, but it scared him to death. It was the fear of the consequences of coming out. He had received those consequences before, and he didn't know if he could handle them again. No. He _knew_ he couldn't.

The smile slipped off of his face. But it then reappeared just as quickly as it had left.

_For today, maybe tomorrow, maybe a week or a month, I am going to be happy. I am going to feel safe in the fact that, for now, no one has to know about this but me. I am going to be glad that I like Kurt, and the way he smiles. I am going to ignore what the consequences would be if I came out, and I am just going to be happy with the fact I can think about Kurt all I want, and that no one can stop me or my thoughts._

With the song still blasting in his ears, Blaine looked over and smiled. Today Kurt had chosen to sit with the Cheerios. And as he giggled and gossiped with them in what Blaine felt was the most charming way possible, something felt out of place. As Blaine gazed at Kurt, he began to notice small things. The lack of food on Kurt's plate, and the way he made a small twitch whenever someone walked behind him, or how he seemed to be slightly distracted and slip in and out of the conversations around him. Something wasn't right, this was not the Kurt that Blaine had met in Finn's kitchen, this was a different Kurt. If Blaine didn't know him so well, he might not have noticed. But then again, it seemed like even his best friends didn't even pick up on it.

Blaine's eyebrow creased with worry as he considered going over to talk to Kurt. He desperately wanted to, but too many people would see. And that's what killed him, that's exactly what Cooper had been talking about, that unhappiness that Blaine felt when he couldn't go comfort Kurt, because other students would notice. He couldn't risk that.

Blaine shut his eyes tight and turned away from Kurt, then with a mumbled,

"I'm going to head outside, see you guys at practice."

Blaine threw his lunch away and went to go sit outside, taking one last look at Kurt before opening the doors and letting the fresh air clear his mind of everything but the song.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the lack of Blaine in this chapter... :(**

**Also, just another reminder that this chapter, as well as the next couple chapters, are going to be very Kurt centric (Particulary Kurt and Karofsky). But stick with us. There _is_ a reason for all this.**

**Again thanks for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 7

Kurt stood in the hallway before school, trying to open his locker. But he was slightly distracted and it took him a bit longer than normal to get the small door to unlock. Ever since Karofsky had ramped up his attempts at bullying, Kurt had been less than his usual focused self.

Karofsky bullied everyone, but there was something, something Kurt couldn't quite put his finger on, that was different about how he acted towards Kurt. It was almost…_personal_. Kurt shook his head to clear his mind of the thought.

When the locker door finally clicked open, he immediately reached for his can of hairspray, spraying a copious amount around his head. Kurt placed the can back in his locker and jumped a bit when he noticed someone suddenly standing next to him.

"Hey Kurt."

He felt his breathing return to normal.

_Oh thank god. It's just Mercedes._

"Hey Mercedes."

"You okay? You seem a little jumpy."

Kurt just waved a hand in the air, as if he was trying to brush away her question.

"What? No, I'm fine. You just scared me a bit, I didn't expect you to be standing there. So what's up?"

Though Mercedes wasn't fully convinced by Kurt's explanation, she moved on with the conversation.

"Just wanted to know if you wanted to come over tonight. Cinemax is playing 'Dreamgirls'."

"I'd love to, but I managed to bug my dad into having a father-son dinner with me tonight. Ever since his heart attack I've wanted to spend-"

Mercedes didn't need any more convincing, she knew how close Kurt and his Father were, and she knew they had gone through a lot lately.

"Kurt, its fine. I totally get it."

Mercedes smiled and pulled Kurt into a hug. He was glad to be able to relax into the loving arms of one of his best friends. Kurt hugged her back even tighter, swaying her lightly.

"I promise I'll make it up to you though. How about we get together this weekend? We'll have a Twilight Marathon."

Mercedes laughed.

"With popcorn and three different kinds of candy?"

Kurt just grinned at his friend.

"Of course!"

"Just promise me one thing."

Kurt gave her a confused smile

"Um, sure?"

Mercedes lowered her voice and leaned into Kurt.

"Let's _not _invite Rachel. The girl is nice and all, but she's all kinds of crazy. And I don't know if…"

Kurt finished her sentence

"…If she can handle both Robert Pattinson _and_ a shirtless Taylor Lautner?"

"Exactly."

Kurt let out a small laugh

"Sure, no problem. It'll be our little secret"

Mercedes pulled Kurt into a quick hug.

"Sounds awesome. I'll see you at rehearsal."

She gave him a big smile before heading off to class. Kurt turned to watch her walk down the hall, a little happier than before.

As he turned back to his locker to grab his books for his next class he could feel the unyielding grip of two bulky hands grab him by the sleeve. Kurt didn't have any time to think or shout before his body had been flung into the lockers on the other side of the hallway.

He felt everything. It was as if time had been slowed down just so he could feel each and every painful effect of his body connecting with the lockers.

His face slammed into the hard metal, one of the locks cutting his face, Kurt knew it would not be pretty. He felt his left arm crash against the lockers, his hand getting crunched in the process. Kurt instinctively recognized that nothing was broken, but it didn't change the fact that his hand would probably have bruising on it tomorrow. The momentum of the throw had made his legs unable to hold him and he collapsed to the ground. Kurt looked up, already knowing the culprit.

But by now, he was a few feet further down the hall, walking away like he _hadn't_ just injured Kurt. Hadn't just thrown him into the lockers and left him there like garbage on the side of the highway. Like he was worthless, nothing. And to Kurt, that was the biggest insult he could have been given.

Filled with anger and unable to control himself, Kurt spat out,

"Can I help you?"

Karofsky waited for a second, letting Kurt's words hang in the air before deciding what to do.

He slowly turned around, and took large, measured steps until he was standing in front of Kurt. Karofsky reached a hand down towards the boy cheerleader, who tried to back up along the floor, but it was no use. Karofsky took a handful of Kurt's collar and dragged him off of the floor into a standing position.

Karofsky moved his face towards Kurt's until they were only inches away from each other. He stared Kurt, though not in the eye, then spoke in a low, quiet voice that struck fear into the very core of Kurt's heart.

"You talking back to me, Ladyboy?"

Any strength, any power, any ounce of courage Kurt had left, drained out of his body in an instant. He immediately felt cold and helpless. Kurt seemed to have withdrawn into himself when he spoke again.

"I….uh…"

Kurt knew this was a battle he had lost. He closed his eyes, waiting for the worst to be over, waiting for the sensation of Karofsky's fist to connect with his jaw. But it never came.

Instead, Karofsky just smirked.

"That's what I thought."

Karofsky opened his fist, releasing Kurt. He took a moment to straighten Kurt's bowtie in a way that could only be described as condescending and completely devoid of tenderness before turning and sauntering off down the hall.

Kurt opened his eyes after what seemed to be an eternity. The hallway was still full of students, but Kurt had never felt more alone. He leaned his head back against the lockers, trying to steady himself and keep from crumbling to the floor in a messy heap. His legs were weak, and he was fighting back tears. Kurt bit his tongue to keep from screaming out loud. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last. He was at the tipping point, and Karofsky was about to push him over the edge.

* * *

Mercedes: I think something's wrong w/ Kurt.

Rachel: Why?

Mercedes: U didn't think he was acting weird in rehearsal?

Rachel: Idk. I was too busy dealing w/ the fact that my life is over.

Mercedes: Its 1 solo…

Rachel: So? It was mine. Not ken and barbie's.

Mercedes: This is about Kurt, not you hun.

Rachel: Sorry.

So what do u think's wrong?

Mercedes: idk. Just the way he was acting. And did u notice how much makeup he was wearing?

Rachel: Do u think he was trying to cover up something?

Mercedes: idk. Maybe I'm over thinking…

Rachel: Maybe. Should we talk to Kurt?

Mercedes: U know him. He won't talk. Let's just keep an eye out for now.

Rachel: K

* * *

It was around six-thirty when Kurt heard his father's car in the driveway. Burt was a bit late for dinner, but Kurt didn't mind, he invited it actually.

It had given him enough time to make another side dish to go with the main course he was cooking, _and_ he was able to cake even more makeup onto his cut, after properly cleaning it of course. It also gave him enough time to think up a good excuse incase Burt noticed his swollen cheek and bruised hand.

Kurt made out the sound of a key in the lock on the front door and braced himself for what would probably be one of the most nerve-wracking dinners he had ever eaten with his father.

"Hey, bud, I'm home. Dinner smells great! What are you makin'?"

Kurt tried to sound calm as he called back

"Rosemary chicken on a bed of Italian herb rice and a side salad with roasted pecans, dried cranberries and a light pear vinaigrette."

Burt scrunched his brow as he always did when Kurt told him what they were having. It never _sounded_ appetizing to him, but it always tasted amazing.

Burt entered the kitchen to find pots and pans still on the stove.

"It's not quite done yet, but it will be in, like, five minutes. You can go ahead and sit at the table if you want, I already set it."

Kurt kept his body turned towards the stove, stirring the rice, trying to keep Burt from seeing him for as long as he could.

"I'm not going to let you do _everything_. What do you need help with?"

"Nothing." Kurt said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I just- I'm fine, I don't need any help. You need to go relax. You've had a long day."

Burt, knowing how anal Kurt could be about everything being perfect, did as he asked and with a shrug of the shoulders took his seat at the table. Within minutes Kurt was delivering bowls of rice, salad, and chicken to the table.

Kurt then sat down in his usual chair and prepared for the barrage of questions he was sure would follow.

"Man, this stuff sure looks a hell of a lot better than what it sounded like."

Burt smiled at his son, but Kurt just kept his head down as he answered back.

"Bon Appetite."

A few minutes of the dinner was spent in silence, but Burt finally spoke.

"So, Kurt."

No response.

"What happened to your cheek?"

Nothing escaped Burt. He had noticed the second Kurt walked into the dining room.

_There's no point in trying to hide my cut anymore_.

Kurt raised his head to look at his dad. He mumbled a quick response.

"I slipped."

"Don't lie to me; you wouldn't get a cut like that from falling."

Kurt took a deep breath. He knew he might as well just tell his dad what had happened, as Burt would find out sooner or later. He always saw right through him. He looked his father in the eye for the first time that night.

"I got pushed into the lockers today. But it's fine- I'm fine. I can handle it. You don't have to worry."

Kurt put on his fakest smile, even though it hurt his cheek a bit to do so. The smile quickly disappeared off his face as he looked back down at his plate and went back to pushing his food around.

By then, Burt had twisted his face into a scowl.

"Dammit, those knuckle heads are doing this to you _again?_"

"Don't- I'm fine."

"Obviously not! A cut like that doesn't come from a guy just messin' around! How long has this been goin' on for?"

"Dad, your heart. Please, just calm down."

As much as Burt wanted to scream, punch the wall, _anything_, he knew his son was right. He took a deep breath and tried to talk again.

"Do you need me to come in and talk to your principal?"

"No, Dad. I-I want to handle this myself. Please. It hasn't gotten that serious. You don't need to get involved."

Burt seemed unconvinced, but he knew this was a losing battle.

"Just promise me something. If it _does _get worse.-"

"I'll tell you immediately."

Kurt knew that was probably a lie. Maybe in the past he would have, but his father's health was his top priority right now. The two of them began to eat again. Burt took a deep breath as he put his fork back down.

"Kurt?"

Kurt looked up at him.

"You really need to _try_ to stand up for yourself. You may not know it, but you're so much stronger than they are. They're just cowards, Kurt. And the only way to show them that is to call them out on it. If you run, if you let them chase you away, nothing will change. Don't be the victim, Kurt. Don't let them win."

Kurt gave a small but meaningful nod. He knew his dad was right, he usually was.

"And Kurt?"

Kurt picked his head up and Burt looked his son directly in the eye as he spoke again

"Nobody pushes the Hummels around."

Kurt just smiled a bit, a real smile this time, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Nobody."

* * *

Kurt took a deep breath as he smoothed out his top one last time.

Kurt was a Cheerio. And on the high school food chain, all Cheerios, even the boys, were untouchable. That uniform was like a fortress. The moment you put one on, the whole world seem to stand down. It not only embodied respect, but demanded it. Kurt was not going to let Karofsky, of all people, become an exception to that unspoken law. As terrified as he was, his determination burned brighter.

All day he had heard his dad's voice in his head.

"_Don't be the victim, Kurt."_

He practiced everything he would say over and over again in his head. And each time he did, he grew more and more confident. He could do this. _Nothing_ was going to stand in his way.

"_Don't let them win."_

Cheerio practice had ended just after the Football Team's. As Kurt walked into the locker room he spotted Karofsky right away, and smiled. Karofsky was the last one there due to having to run extra laps. But the closer Kurt came to his tormentor, the more his whole body shook. His palms became clammy and his stomach tied in knots.

_No. I can't back down now. _

The jock spotted Kurt as he slammed his locker shut. Karofsky looked him square in the eye for a split second before looking away. Kurt had a moment of panic in that split second, a tremor running down his spine, but the fear left him the same time Karofsky's eyes did.

Karofsky's hands bunched into fists at his sides.

"Wrong locker room, Lady. Or do I need to remind you again?"

He started to leave, shoving Kurt with his shoulder as he did.

Kurt didn't hit the locker very hard; in fact he barely hit it at all. But it was just enough to make him snap.

That shove was all the fuel he needed to finally face Karofsky.

The football player had only made it a few lockers away when Kurt began to yell.

"Hey! I came in here to talk to you." Kurt reached out and made contact with Karofsky's back, pushing him into the lockers "So listen!"

Karofsky turned around and took a step towards Kurt, closing the already small gap between the two boys, and growled out a warning.

"Watch it, Hummel!"

Kurt ignored every single survival instinct he was having right now. His body wanted him to turn and run. Run until he was safe, run until- no. He couldn't run. Not anymore. The only way he could truly be safe was if he ended this, right here, right now.

He took a deep breath and puffed out his chest, matching the Neanderthal's intensity.

Karofsky didn't even waver when the shorter boy screamed in his face,

"This needs to stop! Now!"

Karofsky twisted his face into a snarl as he tried to push past Kurt

"Why don't you just run along with all of your little homo friends and go sing your show tunes."

The look on Kurt's face turned into one of disgust as he swung around and grabbed Karofsky's arm. In a split second the giant man had turned back towards the boy cheerleader who was staring him straight in the eye with an unwavering glare.

"What is your problem with me?"

"Don't touch me, Hummel!"

Karofsky shoved the other boy off him, but didn't turn to leave this time.

"Why are you so damn scared of me?"

Karofsky scoffed.

"I'm not _scared_ of you, fairy."

"Is that why you can't even look me in the eye? Why do you run off every time you get near me?"

Kurt couldn't quite read the expression on Karofsky's face. But at this point, he couldn't stop himself.

"You're a coward Karofsky! You try to talk a big talk but in the end you're just a gutless little mouse who can't even look another guy in the face because you're so afraid of being judged on it!

"Shut up, Hummel!"

"It must suck! It must really suck to be able to see someone like me who can be so proud of who I am while you sit by being a sad little victim of society!"

"I swear if you don't I'll-"

Kurt got right up in his face as his eyes bore down on Karofsky, refusing to look away.

"You'll hit me? That's a lie! You're too afraid to hit me! You're too afraid that you'll catch whatever 'Gay Fairy Disease' I have!"

Karofsky's face had become indiscernible, just a mixture of rage, confusion and fear.

"Get out of my face!"

Kurt's pulse was racing and his heart was pounding. He had so much adrenaline coursing through his veins right now that he couldn't help but keep screaming.

"You're pathetic! You're a pathetic boy with a fake, pathetic life who can't even handle how disgustingly ordinary you and I'm not-!"

Kurt stopped mid sentence. A pair of hands was at his neck and he felt his throat constrict. Panic flashed through him and his mind filled with terror at the thought of Karofsky squeezing the breath out of his body. Kurt tried to take in one last gulp of air, but then something happened.

Something Kurt could never have guessed.

Kurt felt Karofsky press his dry, chapped lips against his own, stopping the flow of air into Kurt's lungs. His body became petrified and his senses were screaming, telling him to move. But he couldn't. He was frozen with shock, pure shock. Kurt couldn't budge and his mind wasn't working right, he found it impossible to form a cohesive thought telling his arms to push the other boy away, so he just stood there, rigid, unable to even move an inch. He felt Karofsky move his hands to the back of Kurt's neck to try to kiss him harder. After what seemed like hours, hours of pure torture as Kurt stood there, frozen and helpless to get away, Karofsky pulled back.

Karofsky's face flashed emotion. Confusion, about what he had done, why he had done it. Fear, of what Kurt would do, what he could unleash on Karofsky's world if he did say anything. His face twisted into something unreadable, but those emotions, that confusion and fear, only lasted for half a second before he pulled his face into a wicked smile to hide what it had previously shown.

Kurt still stood there, unable to react, and Karofsky took it as a sign to keep going. He tried to bring Kurt's face towards his own, but the smaller boy finally broke free from shock's icy cold grip and was able to bring his hands up to Karofsky's chest and push him back.

Karofsky didn't try again to kiss Kurt. He knew this was over and that things had gotten out of hand. But he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it now. He brought up a fist and slammed it into the locker next to Kurt's head before rushing out of the locker room, leaving Kurt to deal with the mess by himself.

Kurt didn't even flinch. He just stood there, paralyzed, and completely horrified. Kurt could cope with fists, and words, and anything but this. This was too much. It overloaded his senses and confused him to no end. This kiss, if you could even give the harsh act such a tender name, was not something Kurt could just forget about. He knew things were about to get awful, and so much worse than they had ever been before.

But there was something even more terrible, something that hurt him more than anything in the world. More than any hit that had ever been thrown at him, any locker he had ever been thrown into, any word that had ever been yelled at him.

That was his first kiss.

First kisses were romantic, and sweet and kind and filled with cotton candy and rainbows. They were for chick flicks that make you use a good amount of tissues; they were for first loves, and for summer romances. They were perfect and cheesy and beautiful and Kurt had dreamt about his from the moment he learned what kissing was.

It was a moment in your life. A short, sweet, simple moment that you would always remember and hold near to your heart.

A memory that you would cherish forever.

But that moment, that memory, which Kurt had laid out in his head like a picture from a movie, had now been ripped from the pages of his mind, torn to shreds, chewed up, spit out, and thrown back in his face. He would never be able to look back and think about his first love who had swept him up into his arms, spinning him around as they lazily let their lips mingle. No. All he had was the feeling of panic, and the memory of dry, unwelcoming lips smashed up against his own, stealing his first kiss.

Kurt sank down to the floor, trembling. He couldn't bring himself to cry, not just yet. Not here, in this spot, where so much of him had just been stolen. He couldn't afford to lose anymore of himself through tears.

So there he sat, cold and very alone, waiting to open his eyes and wake up in his bed. Wake up from what _had_ to be a terrible nightmare. But he didn't. This was real. And the nightmare was just beginning.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Just another heads up (I know we keep saying this lol.) that this chapter and the next three to five chapters may get a little intense and slightly violent. But stick with us! We promise we'll make it worth it!**

**Much love and thank you guys! You're the best!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Kurt let out a deep breath as he entered the cafeteria, heading straight for the table occupied only by Mercedes and Rachel. It was the safer choice; the Cheerio table was too close to where all of the Jocks were seated.

Thoughts of Karofsky had plagued his mind, keeping him up the night before. He just didn't get it. It seemed so unreal and Kurt was almost able to believe he had dreamt it, until he realized that his mind could never fathom something like that. The harder Kurt thought about it, the more it made sense. But then again, when he thought even harder, it didn't make any sense at all.

He didn't even know what to feel. His brain was so overloaded with images and words and feelings. Confusion, anger, resentment, sorrow. But Kurt didn't want to feel those; he didn't even want to recognize that yesterday happened at all. He did his best to push everything away and put on a fake smile, hoping his two best friends would calm his mind.

Kurt sat down in his usual seat, next to Mercedes with Rachel across the table. Mercedes immediately scooted closer to Kurt, a smile filling up her face.

"Hey Kurt! What happened? I tried texting, but you never answered."

_Of course I didn't_

Once Kurt had gotten home yesterday, he turned off his phone and dropped it into one of his dresser drawers, trying his hardest to ignore the outside world.

"I went to bed early last night and forgot to plug it in. I guess it died."

Mercedes lifted an eyebrow and gave Kurt a questioning yet playful glance.

"Really? You went to bed _early_? 'Cause it looks like you haven't slept at all."

Kurt gave a small chuckle. He glanced over at the Jock's table and noticed that Karofsky hadn't made it to lunch yet. He let himself relax a bit and a smile slowly planted itself on his face.

"I guess I'm still tired. Shouldn't be surprising. The way Coach Sue's working us I'm surprised any of us are still alive."

Mercedes let out a quick laugh, but she was still concerned, and she was about to say something when Rachel's voice popped up on the other side of the table.

"You really look terrible, Kurt. You should try my new intensive moisturizing cream. My two gay dads just got back from their second honeymoon to Paris, it was _very _romantic. They stayed at the Hotel du Jeu de Paume and had a candle lit dinner in a little bistro overlooking the Seine River."

Rachel took a second to swoon,

"Anyways, they brought me back _top dollar_ facial and hair care products."

She finished her little speech with a small nod of the head and began to rustle through her bag.

Kurt just stared at her with an odd look on his face.

"Uh, no…thanks…"

Rachel looked up at Kurt and placed a hand on his arm, and said in her most _concerned_ voice,

"Are you sure? Because you look like _death_."

Kurt stared at the hand on his arm for a second while he decided what to do. Figuring that in order to keep up with this, 'I'm perfectly happy' façade, it would be better to just accept the cream and move on.

"On second thought, I'll take it. You can never have too many skin care products."

He took the cream from her hand, and she gave a quick grin before moving on to her favorite topic:

Herself.

"Well, anyways, I was discussing Sectionals with Mr. Schue today."

She waited, wide eyed, hoping for them start begging her for information. But they both just stared at Rachel, already bored of hearing her voice.

"Aren't you going to ask me about it?"

Mercedes lifted an eyebrow in response.

"Well, fine. I'll tell you, even though you are so _obviously _uninterested."

Though Rachel put on a pouty face, she was secretly very excited to start talking about herself again.

"Mr. Schue is set on ruining my life. I was _trying_ to convince him to let Finn and me take the duet spot, since our voices blend together flawlessly_ and_ I have the perfect moving ballad for us that will definitely get him to love me again, but since he's absolutely set on his psychotic idea to give what is rightfully mine to less talented people, I've decided to focus my thoughts on choosing my song for the solo spot. I know Mr. Schue hasn't _officially _given it to me yet, but I really am the obvious choice. I was thinking either 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion - a classic crowd pleaser, which we all know would suit my voice perfectly, or 'Memory' from Cats, which would obviously suit my voice perfectly as well. I _tried_ to explain the complexities of both songs to him, but he just walked off to go talk to Ms. Holliday and said he'd 'get back to me'."

Rachel's brow furrowed for a second before she continued on,

"So I need your guys' help. Which song would best showcase my voice and floor the judges so I can win us Sectionals?"

She smiled brilliantly at them for a second before Mercedes jumped into the conversation.

"Ah _hell_ to the no! Listen to me Little _Princess_,-"

But Kurt had tuned out; for once he was grateful for Rachel's selfishness. All of the crazy that was spewing out of her mouth allowed any slight deviation of his behavior go unnoticed. He took this opportunity to let his mind be filled with the non-stop buzzing of Rachel talking and Mercedes repeatedly telling her to 'take a step back' and reminding her that she's 'not the only one here who can sing'.

But his head didn't go blank for long. As much as he tried to stop it, his mind slipped back to Karofsky.

However, this time he didn't feel a flush of emotion, just one; pity.

Karofsky was angry, but not because he hated others. He hated himself. And though Kurt didn't _agree_ with his violent methods of coping, he was finally beginning to understand them.

_Maybe he just needs someone to help him through it. Maybe that kiss was his way of reaching out._

As much dislike as he had for Karofsky, Kurt knew he had to be the one to talk to him. Maybe that's all he needed, a friend who understood what he was going through. Who wouldn't judge him or get at him about it. Because as confusing as this whole thing was to Kurt, it _had_ to be more confusing for Karofsky.

Kurt opened his mouth about to share this with his friends, but stopped himself before any words could come out. He couldn't tell them, he couldn't tell anyone. It would be outing Karofsky before he had even _begun _to accept his sexuality. Besides, there was no possible way they could understand how Karofsky felt. Kurt _barely_ did.

And at that moment, Kurt decided that he would at least _try _to help Karofsky. It may not be easy for either of them, damn, it may be the hardest thing either of them had ever done, but Karofsky needed someone and Kurt knew it had to be him.

* * *

It was the last class of the day, and after listening to the monotonous droning of Mr. Gregory for the better half of an hour, Kurt was falling asleep on his desk. When he noticed that a bit of drool had begun to dribble out of his mouth, he knew that had had to get out of there.

Kurt stepped out into the hallway, bathroom pass in hand, hoping that a short walk would perk him up. He took his time, not at all eager to get back to his class, wandering the halls and letting his mind fill up with nothingness, glad to have a moment of peace and quiet for once.

He passed by the bathroom and, after a bit of internal debate, decided it would be a good idea to splash some water on his face.

Kurt pushed open the door to the bathroom and audibly gasped as he spotted Karofsky standing at the sink, washing his hands.

Kurt knew this was probably the only chance he was going to get. It was now or never.

He took a deep breath and quietly made his way over to the sink next to Karofsky's.

Kurt turned on the faucet and began to wash his hands, waiting for Karofsky to realize he was there. When it was obvious the Jock was completely oblivious to his presence, Kurt realized that he was probably going to have to start the conversation himself.

Karofsky's hand was on the faucet, about to turn off the water, when he heard Kurt speak.

"Hey, um, about yesterday-"

Karofsky's grip tightened at the sound of Kurt's voice, and he almost broke the faucet off of the sink. He paused for a moment, trying to get his breathing under control. He then turned away from Kurt, quickly dried his hands and with a stiff back, he began to walk out of the bathroom.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

But Kurt wasn't about to give up on this. He almost ran to keep pace with Karofsky as he followed him out of the bathroom.

"Look, I know this must be confusing for you, it not the easiest thing to come to terms with, but maybe if you just talked to someone about it I'm sure-"

Karofsky just kept walking, and Kurt barely heard his reply

"There's nothing to talk about."

Kurt tried to keep a tone of caring in his voice, which was becoming a lot harder.

"This isn't just gonna disappear. I know it's hard, but I'm always here if you need me. I know what it's like and I may be able to help you."

Karofsky looked panicked as he glanced around the hallway, as if he was making sure that no one was around to hear their conversation.

"You don't _know _anything! Now leave me alone!"

Karofsky picked up his pace, but Kurt caught up with him and grabbed his arm so they could actually talk.

"Would you calm down? Getting angry about this isn't going to help. Coming out is a difficult thing to do-"

Kurt's words where once again silenced when Karofsky turned to face Kurt and let out a violent grunt as he slammed him up against the wall. All the sympathy and understanding drained out of Kurt's face. He just closed his eyes and took a deep breath, almost accepting the abuse.

Karofsky's face hardened and he was no longer filled with panic, but control.

"I don't know what you _think_ happened yesterday, Hummel, but you better not tell anyone how-" He lowered his voice, even though the hallways were empty, "how you kissed me."

When Kurt opened his eyes, they were a blazing inferno.

"How I- what? You kissed _me_, Karofsky."

"Shut up!"

The larger boy shoved Kurt into the wall a bit harder than before, making him wince and briefly shut his eyes. When they opened back up, they met with Karofsky's. But there was something unnerving about Karofsky's eyes. They were no longer filled with the uncontrollable rage of a tropical storm. Instead, he just stared at Kurt, almost calmly. Like the eye of a hurricane. Underneath the calm outer shell, there was something, Kurt couldn't quite put his finger on what it was exactly, but it made a chill run down his spine.

Karofsky removed his hands from Kurt's arms and let them fall to his sides. Kurt almost let himself relax, but he knew that this was far from over.

After a few seconds of silence, Karofsky spoke.

"You better not tell anyone what happened,"

He stopped his sentence and stared at the boy for a second longer before his eyes traveled down. Karofsky's gaze seemed to be a bit dazed as he just stood there, fixed on Kurt's neck.

Kurt immediately tensed up. There was no way of knowing what was going on inside of Karofsky's head. The air felt thick and Kurt was having a hard time getting breaths of air into his lungs.

The jock reached a hand up towards Kurt's neck at a torturously slow speed and he shrunk back against the wall, unsure of what else to do.

He placed a hand on Kurt's black velvet bowtie, wiggling it back and forth to straighten it out. Kurt could feel the fabric of the bowtie shifting and moving all around his neck like a noose being placed on its victim.

A small smirk grew onto Karofsky's face as he stared straight into Kurt's eyes with an unwavering gaze.

"Or I'll kill you."

Karofsky let his hand drift off of Kurt's body as he turned and left the hallway.

Karofsky's words were still ringing in Kurt's ears. He wanted to run, or scream or cry, but no part of his body would move; he felt paralyzed. He couldn't focus on any single thought in his head, and everything seemed fuzzy. There was an odd buzzing in his ears and he suddenly felt very cold.

Kurt wasn't sure how long he had stood there, clinging onto whatever sanity he had left at that particular moment in time, hoping for this day to just be over.

The final school bell rang and Kurt's eyes shot open, he was immediately aware of the hundreds of students now crowding the hall, and when he looked down at his clenched fists, he realized that he had been standing there hyperventilating the whole time.

Kurt began to slowly regain control of his body, and forced his legs to work, putting one foot in front of the other, trying to carry on. His mind was still a bit hazy but he knew he had to get home. Kurt placed all of his focus into that simple task; getting to his locker to put his things away so he could leave.

* * *

Today, Blaine's smile was brighter than the sun. His feelings for Kurt had been growing and now he had to really make an effort to _not _flirt with him in second hour. Everything had just seemed so right for a change; he was almost forgetting the person he was pretending to be.

Blaine was starting to consider Kurt one of his closest friends. Yeah, he had his football friends and he loved being around them, but he had an undeniable connection to Kurt, even platonically. A connection that seemed to grow more and more each day. Their friendship may have seemed weird to most, seeing how Kurt was gay, but Blaine just kept telling himself that Kurt was a cheerleader, and football players hung out with cheerleaders all the time, right?

He made his way down the hallway towards Kurt, a little bounce in his step as he did. Kurt stood there, anxiously cramming his things into the locker, as if he was just trying to get this over with so he could get out of there. He seemed a bit on edge, so Blaine thought he'd lighten him up a little.

"Boo!"

Blaine poked his head out from behind the open locker door. Kurt's whole body jerked and half the things in his hands fell to the ground.

"Oh my god! Blaine! Where did you-?"

He seemed to relax the tiniest bit when he saw that it was only Blaine, but even then, Kurt still seemed tense.

Blaine laughed.

_He's so cute when he's all confused and flustered…_

"Here, lemme help you with that."

Blaine bent down to pick up the stuff he made Kurt drop and placed them in his locker while Kurt just stood there trying to breathe normally.

Blaine finished with Kurt's locker and closed the door. His eyes studied Kurt for a second before he spoke with a smile.

"So, how was your day?"

Blaine expected a cute little quip about something funny that happened today. Kurt just stared at the floor.

"Okay, I guess."

That was all he got, and Blaine wasn't really sure how to reply.

"Oh, uh…alright, then. Um, cool?"

Kurt fidgeted with his sleeves and avoided Blaine's questioning gaze.

"Yeah."

Kurt seemed to flinch whenever someone walked too close to him, whenever a locker was slammed. He was a bundle of nerves and Blaine knew that something was not right.

"Is something bothering you?"

Kurt's eyes darted up to glance at Blaine as he forced a very small, anxious smile

"What? No, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem a little jumpy." When Blaine saw Kurt's jaw tense, he knew something was up, "Wanna talk about it?"

Blaine was genuinely concerned as he looked into the other boy's eyes and Kurt could almost feel the warmth radiating off of his body. It was enough to get Kurt to almost let out the deadly secret he had been trying to hide.

"Yeah, I just…yesterday-"

Kurt's eyes went wide as all of the blood drained out of his face and he began to panic. Blaine's face was immediately filled with distress.

"Hey, you okay? What's wrong?"

Kurt stumbled over his words and took a small step back, as if he was trying to distance himself from Blaine.

"Nothing…I…I think I just need t- to go home an- and rest."

Blaine looked confused.

"Isn't there cheer practice?"

Kurt brought a hand up to his forehead

"Cheer practice! I completely forgot! I-"

_He never forgets practice…_

Blaine placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder and he seemed to relax at the touch. He waited for Kurt to face him so that he could look Kurt in the eye while he spoke.

"Hey, calm down, it's okay. I think you just need to take a breath and figure out what's going on in that well groomed head of yours."

Kurt nodded, though it didn't seem like had heard anything Blaine said.

"I'll see you on the field. You better get out there before Sue bites your head off."

Blaine squeezed Kurt's shoulder a bit before reluctantly turning and walking down the hall.

_He's probably just tired or something. I mean, he was fine this morning, right? Maybe he just took a rough test and he thinks he failed. That's probably all it is, just a test. Nothing serious…_

* * *

Kurt could feel his happy little veneer start to crumble. He had tried so hard to just be okay and act like this was nothing. Like he could get past it, like if he _acted_ fine then everything would _be _fine. But things only seemed to get worse.

Kurt just wanted to talk to _someone_ about this, particularly Blaine. But he knew he couldn't. If anyone knew what had happened, it would just make them another potential target for Karofsky.

_God knows what he would do to Blaine if he- Oh god!_

A sick feeling formed in his stomach as his mind flashed with pictures of Karofsky beating him to a dead pulp. And then Blaine, just as bad or even worse. Kurt's head then flooded images of his friend, bleeding and broken. Images which only became worse as the football players stepped out onto the field. And by then Kurt couldn't tell which was more terrifying; seeing Karofsky or seeing Blaine.

The pyramid of cheerleaders in front of him just collapsed. Kurt knew it was his fault, and that Sue was probably screaming at him right now. But everything around him felt so distant. He slowly walked away from the toppled pyramid, mumbling something about "practicing a cheer he had been working on."

Santana chased after him then, screeching about Brittany being hurt when the pyramid toppled, but when those words reached Kurt's ears, they morphed into something else. Like horrifying shrieks, all coming from Blaine.

The shrieks clawed their way into Kurt's mind, molding and shaping themselves into some twisted little horror film in his head.

_Blaine was shoved up against the lockers, his head banging into the cold, harsh metal behind. A fist connected with his already broken jaw, and then a blow was landed on his stomach. The hits came faster now, sure to leave bruises, broken bones and blood. So much blood. _

_The fist that was doling out this punishment was now wearing brass knuckles, and when the metal smashed into Blaine's chest, he crumbled to the floor with an agonizing scream. _

_Blaine had landed on his back with a loud thud, the fall knocking the breath from his lungs, his head smacking against the hard floor. He blinked a few times, fighting to keep his eyes open as a groan escaped his bloodied lips._

_But then Blaine seemed to look up, seemed to look right into Kurt's eyes, pleading desperately._

"_Why did you let him do this to me?"_

_And then Karofsky was there again, slamming a baseball bat down on Blaine's skull, producing a sickening crack-_

Kurt snapped back into reality and almost collapsed onto the floor. His hands flew up to his mouth to keep a scream from bursting out. He had no idea where that horrifyingly gruesome day-mare came from; he didn't even want to know. He just wanted to forget about it.

He took a deep breath in, and when he let it out, he also let out every single thought of Blaine and Karofsky, trying his hardest to erase what his mind had just produced. Kurt then threw all of his focus into the cheer he was supposed to be practicing, but now he was so on edge that every little thing seemed to affect him.

Kurt began the cheer and started to move his arms in time with the rhythm, but stopped short. He was drawing a blank on the words and his arms refused to cooperate. He tried again to no avail and just kept getting more and more frustrated.

He took a deep breath and started over.

Hands down by his sides, he said the words to the cheer in his head.

But ugh- no. Those weren't the right words. And he didn't know if his arms went to the right or to the left first.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the pyramid being formed and heard the rhythmic chanting that went along with it. It formed an irritating pulse in the back of his mind.

_Just shake it off._

He shook his head and tried the cheer again. But now he wasn't even sure what the cheer was about anymore. Offense? Defense?

_No that's all wrong._

The cheerleaders in the back of his mind became louder.

Then suddenly the football team was in a huddle, screaming their little battle cry like they did at the end of every practice. Kurt visibly flinched when the boys began to yell.

He knew he shouldn't have looked. He should have just kept trying to remember that cheer.

The girls in the pyramid picked up their volume, as did the boys in the huddle.

He should have kept his head down.

He _shouldn't_ have looked.

But he did.

There he was, Karofsky, screaming just as loud as the other boys, but with one exception. He was not turned towards the center of the huddle where Coach Beiste was standing. He was staring directly at Kurt, completely unaffected by the rowdy mass of testosterone surrounding him.

Kurt stood frozen, his mind bombarded with the noise filling his ears, a noise that warped into Blaine's screams. The world rushed on around him, and his mind began to overflow with four simple words.

"_Or I'll kill you."_

He couldn't handle it, all the images of Blaine flooded back into his head all at once. His senses started to overload as his heart rate sped up unbelievably fast and his breathing became erratic. Kurt's eyelids began to flutter and he lost control of all of the muscles in his body. He was swaying back and forth, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Everything was spinning around him, spinning so fast that it all became a blur. The voices felt more and more distance as Karofsky's words grew louder and louder in his head.

And suddenly he was falling, falling, falling. Endlessly falling backwards.

He heard someone call out his name. A voice he recognized.

_Blaine._

He saw a faint blur of red running over to him.

Then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a note that the authors of this fanfic do NOT support the use of marijuana or any kind of recreational drug use. The scene that shows use of this drug is exaggerated and purely for our humor in writing it. **

Chapter 9

"Dude! Get in here, the game's back on!"

Puck shouted as Finn raced to grab a few more sodas and chips.

"I'm coming! It's just hard to carry all this stuff; I can't really see where I'm go- umph"

Finn smacked into the wall that had previously been hidden from his vision by an armful of junk food.

Burt shook his head,

"There's something wrong with that kid."

Blaine chuckled,

"Need some help?"

Blaine and Finn picked up the greasy food and were able to carry it all between the two of them, bringing it out to the living room within a minute. They both plopped down onto the couch with Puck. Burt, of course, was sitting in his big, puffy recliner.

"Did I miss anything?"

Finn asked as he opened a bag of chips

"Nope, score's still the same, the damn Badgers are up by three- "

A large groan erupted from all of the boys interrupting Burt's sentence.

"Make that six" Puck said, snatching a soda from the pile on the table and chugging it in less than ten seconds.

Burt shook his head,

"That just ain't right."

"Blasphemy." Blaine nodded in agreement

Finn's face went blank.

"…What?"

Burt almost opened his mouth to make a comment when the newscaster began to speak

"_And that brings the score up 21 to 18, with only fifty nine seconds to go. We'll be right back with more of the Badgers v. the Buckeyes."_

Puck crunched his can against his head before tossing it onto the table; he then opened his mouth and let out an enormous belch.

"Nicee" Finn said in amazement as he stuck out a fist for Puck to bump, "I give it a seven"

"Dude, that was _at least _a nine." Puck replied before refusing Finn's fist bump.

Finn took his already clenched fist and gave Puck a small punch on the arm.

"No man, that one I did at Outback after those baby back ribs, _that_ was a nine."

Puck seemed to be extremely offended.

"Are you kidding me? That was like, a five. Mine was way better than that."

"It was not."

"Dude, it so was. I'm the Belching King. Admit it!"

"No way, man."

"Admit it!"

"No-"

Puck reached a hand up to thump Finn on the back of the head, and the dopey kid just went back to his bag of chips, giving off a little grumble

"You _also _said you were CoD King…"

"What was that, Finny Boy?"

Finn gave Puck a smug little grin

"Nothin-"

Puck tackled Finn and the two started their own little wrestling match, acting exactly like the teenage boys they were.

Blaine just rolled his eyes at them before turning to Burt.

"So, how's Kurt doing? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's resting upstairs. Thanks for helping Finn take 'em to the nurse yesterday."

Burt glanced down at the two boys currently rolling around on the carpet.

"C'mon, do ya have to do that inside? You're gonna break somethin"

Blaine was about to respond when the game came back on. Puck and Finn settled their dispute with one last shove.

"Come on, Buckeyes!" Puck howled

The ball was in the hands of the quarterback, he was running it down the field, the space around him was completely open and he looked like he was about to win the game for the Buckeyes.

"You can do this, Pryor!" Finn cheered.

The time began to run out, only fifteen seconds to go. The announcer's voice picked up in pitch and pace. Ten seconds left. The guys leaned forward, wide-eyed and hopeful. Only five seconds. The voice got faster and faster and faster and faster and-

All the boys sat back and groaned. Burt slammed his fist on the table.

"Dammit! What the hell?"

Blaine was astonished.

"Where did that linebacker come from? Seriously! Did _anyone_ see him?"

Puck looked like he could have cried.

"But, he was- and, and, WE COULD HAVE WON, DAMMIT! Don't you see! We could have won!"

Finn turned and brought up a hand to pat Puck on the back,

"It's okay, buddy. It's okay."

Burt looked like he wanted to punch someone

"Those damn Badgers! I swear they cheat, there's no way they could have won! We haven't lost a game all season!"

Finn was very upset,

"Well, they did. And now our six game winning streak is over. Do you hear me? It's _over._"

He looked away from the group as Puck spoke again.

"It's just not fair."

Blaine took in a deep breath and released, shaking his head.

"This is so wrong. I can't take it. I'm gonna go to the bathroom or something, I need a moment"

Burt sighed.

"Up the stairs to the left."

Blaine made his way up the stairs, leaving the group of men to argue by themselves. He was headed towards the bathroom, but as he began to enter it his eyes flicked back to Kurt's room. The door was slightly ajar, practically _begging_ Blaine to go in. He stood there for a second, though he wasn't quite sure why he was so hesitant.

Finally, he made up his mind and pushed the door open. The scent of Kurt hit him like the most beautiful and comforting brick wall in the world. He could have stood there forever, just taking it in. The room itself what so suitable for someone like Kurt. Neat, well put together, amazing to look at, just simply…_perfect._

Blaine's eyes traveled over to the tiny pile of chestnut hair poking out from the covers that had slammed down onto the bed as he walked in. A small, caring, and slightly concerned smile made its way onto Blaine's face.

"Hey Kurt. You okay?"

His tone was soft and gentle and yet he swore he saw Kurt flinch when he spoke. However, the only answer Kurt gave was some soft breathing, which Blaine could have spent the rest of his life listening to if he didn't know Kurt was deflecting.

"Kurt, I know you're not sleeping."

Blaine walked to his bedside and knelt down to the level of his face. Kurt quickly turned away from Blaine response.

"The light is on and I saw you lay down when I walked in. C'mon, Kurt."

Kurt let out a small sigh before turning over to face Blaine, the covers of his bead still pulled up to his chin.

"What do you want?"

"I wanna talk to you. Something's up, I know it is."

Kurt's jaw tensed and he shut his eyes, bringing a hand up to his forehead in the process.

"I'm fine, now can you just leave me alone and go back to your barbaric screeching downstairs? I'm not in the mood."

Blaine put on a slightly amused and playful tone.

"If you're so fine then why did you faint?"

Kurt replied with the same lie he had been telling everyone since practice, and he sounded like he was tired of repeating it for the hundredth time.

"Because I didn't eat lunch, I got sick."

"Exactly. You haven't eaten lunch for the past two days. Kurt, I'm worried about you. I know we haven't known each other for very long but I think of you as one of my best friends and I- Kurt? Kurt can you look at me? Please?"

Blaine noticed Kurt's body visibly tense up.

"Kurt? Kurt what is it?"

Blaine reached a hand over to let it rest on Kurt's shoulder. But as soon as Blaine began to move his arm images flashed through Kurt's mind, and suddenly Kurt felt like he was back in that hallway with Karofsky snaking his hand up towards his neck to adjust his bowtie with that evil, condescending smirk painted on his face.

Kurt literally jumped out of his bed into a standing positing and Blaine felt his hand slapped away before he could even completely register the movement.

"Get away from me!"

Blaine quickly stood up, holding the offending hand close to his chest. The small smile had slipped off of his face and he no longer felt any warmth, just distress. Their eyes met for a brief second and Blaine almost didn't notice the look of horror that Kurt held inside.

An uneasy silence settled over the room, the only noise coming from the rowdy boys downstairs. Blaine stood there, staring at Kurt, who refused to meet his gaze. Kurt took in a deep breath, his whole body shaking, as he stared at the floor and spoke so low that Blaine almost missed it.

"Get out."

The words stabbed like a dagger right through his heart.

"Kurt, I-"

He turned his head to face his wall, looking anywhere but at Blaine

"Leave me alone."

"I'm sorr-"

"I said leave me alone. I don't want to see you or talk to you anymore so just go away."

"Kurt, I just want to help-"

Kurt finally looked Blaine in the eyes, his gaze as cold as ice as he spat his words at Blaine, each sentence like a slap in the face.

"Help? You want to _help_? You aren't helping, you're just making things _worse._ You think you're allowed to come in here and intrude on me? What gives you the _right_? What? Because you carried me off the field yesterday? So? That doesn't mean _anything, _Finn could have done it. So, just _get out._ I don't need you here, I don't want you here. And I _definitely_ don't need your _help._"

Blaine visibly winced at the last word, and a wave of bitterness washed over him as he tore his eyes from Kurt.

"Fine."

Blaine slowly turned away and left the room, leaning against the door once he closed it. He let his eyes flutter shut, pushing back tears. He could feel his heart breaking and he hated it.

"_I don't want to see you or talk to you anymore…"_

Blaine dug his fingernails into his palm and bit down on his lip. He was _not_ going to cry. Especially not over some stupid boy that he shouldn't even have feelings for.

_I shouldn't feel like this. He doesn't mean anything to me. _

Blaine kept repeating this lie to himself, but it did no justice

_He doesn't mean anything._

He let out a shaky breath before plastering a fake smile on his face and descending down the stairs.

"Hey guys! Sorry but my mom called. Said she wants me home. I'll catch up with you guys Monday."

The guys gave small waves and sounds of acknowledgement, all three of them completely focused on their current argument about which game was the best win in Buckeyes history.

The smile slipped off of Blaine's face as soon as he walked out of the door into the warm afternoon air. He headed to the gym to blow off some steam, hoping it would help.

But he needed something stronger, something to get Kurt's damn voice out of his mind.

* * *

Rachel stood next to the piano in the choir room, tapping her foot impatiently as she checked her phone for the fifteenth time within the last minute.

"Hey. Um, I got your 'emergency' text. What's going on?"

She whipped around at the sound of Finn's voice.

"What's going on? Mr. Schue is sabotaging us for Sectionals, that's 'what's going on'!"

Finn immediately looked worried

"Wait…What are you talking about? Am I- am I gonna have to… dance?"

Rachel's little hands balled up into fists as she released her compact rage.

"Finn! No, we have more important issues than your lack of rhythm and coordination. It's the duet."

"Is Sam or Quinn sick or something?"

Rachel took a deep breath, forced a smile and began to talk to Finn as if he was a two year old.

"No, _Finn, _they're fine."

A look of realization came over Finn's face as he grasped the reason for Rachel's very squeaky fury.

"Why are you being so psycho about this? It's just one competition and Sam actually sounded pretty good-"

Rachel was horrified at the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"_Just one competition? _Listen to yourself! This is not 'just one competition'! This competition could decide my whole life, and if we lose, which we are if Sam and Quinn sing the duet, then I'll probably end up being an usher at some run down theater where off-Broadway shows go to _die_!"

Finn began to take a few steps backwards,

"I think you're being a bit dramatic, Rache-"

"DRAMATIC?" Rachel screeched as she started to move towards Finn, "I am _not _being _dramatic. _If we lose at Sectionals, then we can't win a National Title! What college is going to want me if I can't even win my Glee club a National Title?"

By this point Rachel had Finn backed up in a corner.

"Umm, _your _Glee club?"

Finn asked. But Rachel just ignored him and kept talking.

"Look, you're missing the point, you and I _need_ to do this duet to win. Now I've tried talking to Mr. Schue but he refuses to see reason, but maybe if you-"

Finn had heard enough. He almost pushed Rachel out of his way as he headed for the door.

"Rachel, No. You're being ridiculous and I have more important things to worry about right now."

Rachel called in a slightly accusatory tone, still standing in the corner of the room.

"Like what?"

Finn pivoted on his heel to face Rachel.

"Um, I don't know. How about the fact that my brother fainted last week? Or that he didn't leave his bedroom all weekend? I don't even think he was in school today. There's something really wrong with him, and- aren't you his best friend?"

Rachel put her hands on her hips, clearly unaware of the insanity in the statement that followed.

"Yes, but he's being really selfish right now. I keep asking him which solo I should do so we can win, but he just ignores me and goes off to be all mopey."

Finn could not believe his ears.

"You-you are insane." He quickly left the choir room and began to walk down the empty hall, "And Santana got that solo by the way, _not you_."

Rachel quickly ran to the open door, shouting at Finn who was already a good twenty feet away.

"It doesn't mean that Mr. Schue won't realize the error of his ways and give the solo to me. There's still time."

Finn turned to face Rachel so he was walking backwards down the hallway.

"You know what, Rachel, if you want to try and get that duet, fine. But don't ask me for help, and _don't _ask me to sing it with you."

Finn spun around just in time to turn the corner and leave a stunned Rachel standing by herself in the middle of the vacant hall.

* * *

It was Puck's idea.

The stress was building up. Football practices were getting more intense, Sectionals was in four days, Schue was riding the kids hard, and Rachel definitely wasn't helping. And though Blaine wasn't in the Glee Club, his own personal issues with Kurt were bringing him to a boiling point.

Sam, Mike, Blaine, and Finn all went over to Puck's after school for what was supposed to be a Halo Marathon, but seeing as this was a problem even mindless video games couldn't fix, Puck busted out the bong in what he called 'The Ultimate Stress Reliever'.

Blaine had never smoked before. He had gotten a whiff of the fumes at one of his brother's "The Parents Are Gone So Let's Trash the Place" parties, but he never really got_ high._

He could tell Mike wasn't too sure about it either. After all, his dad was extremely strict and would probably kill him if he found out he did this.

However, despite his reservations, Blaine gave into the peer pressure fairly quickly. At this point, he would do anything to get Kurt off his mind.

They all sprawled out around Puck's room; door locked, windows closed, and fumes as high in the air as the people smoking them. Puck grabbed his foot and held it close to his face, then pulled it away repeatedly.

"Dudes, I swear my foot keeps getting bigger."

Finn fell backwards laughing, like he had been for the past ten minutes.

"Dude, that's awesome! Oh my god! You know what else is awesome? That lamp. It's so beautiful- I mean- I'm gonna cry, man."

Finn held back tears over his newfound love as Sam gave him a few good pats on the back. Meanwhile Mike was in the corner of the room standing rigid, and looking a tad paranoid.

"They can see the smoke outside, I know they can!"

He began to look around the room, panicked.

"They're coming for me, dude we gotta get outta here the cops are gonna find us-"

Puck turned to Mike from his spot on the carpet where he was now caressing his foot and seemed very mellow.

"Dude, chill, dude, dude, dude, chill, duddddeee chillllllll."

Puck fell backwards onto the floor, laughing as he spoke.

Blaine had been staring at Sam's mouth in awe for the past few minutes when Sam finally noticed. He began to stare back at Blaine with a weird look on his face, waiting for him to speak.

"Sam, your mouth… is so big. You could like, swallow a whole whale. It's just like…so big!"

Sam's eyes went wide and he looked like he had just found the meaning of life.

"I should totally do that! Just like-"

Sam said as he started chomping at the air.

Finn sat right next to the wall, the lamp practically in his lap as he cuddled with it, his arms wrapped around the metal as he spoke.

"So this one day, my mom was like 'Finn, go clean your room' but I didn't want to so I like…made a sandwich"

Puck nodded his head as he spit out a piece of toenail he had just bitten off.

"Well, yeah, of course."

Blaine was in the middle of taking a huge bite of the air when he overheard their conversation and had a revelation.

"I. Am so. Hungry."

The room went quiet as all of the guys realized just how hungry they were, but the silence was interrupted by growl coming from Blaine's stomach.

"Whoa! My stomach's like, trying to talk to me. What's that stomach? Speak up and can't hear you. What do you want tummy!"

"Breadstix."

Blaine's eyes went wide as he stared at his stomach,

"OHMYGOD TUMMY YOU CAN TALK, IT'S A MIRACLE! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TALK TO ME BEFORE?"

He looked around the room, laughing like a small child.

"No- Dude, I said breadstix."

"I know. I heard you tummy! We're gonna be beeeesssttt frienddddds-"

"Dude."

Blaine looked up to Finn staring at him, petting the lamp.

"Oh."

Blaine looked slightly upset, though it didn't last long, and he and Finn broke out into a thunderous laughter.

"Dude, why are we laughing?"

"Dude, I don't know!"

Their giggle fit on the floor was interrupted by Mike jumping up and holding a pillow over his head like a bonnet.

"THEY'RE WATCHING US!"

Sam was a bit overwhelmed by the recent events

"I just want some breadstix, man."

Puck nodded his head as he got up and grabbed his keys.

"Let's go, dude."

Puck quickly ran down the stairs and out to his car while Sam and Blaine tried to pull Finn away from the lamp. Mike raced down the stairs after Puck, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. They finally got Finn into the car, with him shouting, 'I'll never forget you, lamp!' the whole entire way.

* * *

Kurt was curled up on the couch, covered by a thick, quilted blanket as he watched a documentary on "Singin' in the Rain". His eyes were a bit glazed over as images of Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds flashed on the screen. He usually loved documentaries like this one, but today his attention was elsewhere.

_I can't believe I actually said that to him._

He had been drowning in thoughts of Blaine ever since Friday, and though it made him miserable to watch what only made him think more of Blaine and his hazy yellow eyes and his bitter final words, he couldn't help himself.

_He probably hates me now. God, what am I thinking? He probably doesn't even care anymore._

The only thing that brought him even the slightest amount of comfort was knowing he had done it to protect Blaine. Kurt had to push him away, had to hold him at a safe distance so those horrifying images wouldn't come true. No matter how much it hurt to do so.

The front door cracked opened, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was Finn.

"Hey Kurt."

He ducked his head down a bit, and refused to look Kurt in the eye, as if he was trying to sneak by. It didn't really do much good, though.

As he passed by, Kurt immediately sat up straight. He got a big whiff of Finn and dry heaved a bit, almost puking in the process.

"Oh god! What the hell is that?"

Finn's eyes went wide, allowing Kurt to see how bloodshot they were.

"I- uh- I'll be right back."

Finn raced to the bathroom and bathed himself in body spray for a good minute or so. As he walked back out into the living room Kurt stared at him through narrow eyes, clearly appalled.

"Finn were you-?"

Finn looked a bit nervous as he shrugged and tried to brush off Kurt's words.

"It's not that big of a deal, Kurt. A lot of people do it."

Kurt could not believe what he was hearing.

"We have Sectionals coming up!"

Finn immediately tried to use Kurt's own words as an excuse.

"Exactly! Sectionals is really soon and a bunch of the guys have been really stressed about it. And Blaine just seemed pissed. Don't know what about, I didn't really ask, but something seemed to really upset him so we went over Puck's house. I hardly smoked at all. Puck and Blaine were the worst. Please don't tell Burt!"

Kurt let out a sigh of frustration, trying to mask the feeling of disgust swelling in his stomach.

_God, Blaine turned to that stuff? Why on Earth-! Ugh, I shouldn't feel as sick as I do. Was he really that upset? That's still not an excuse! I just-_

Kurt repressed his thoughts and seemed resigned as he agreed to keep this little 'adventure' a secret.

"I won't. Just, don't make this a habit. You don't have many brain cells to spare."

Finn chuckled, even though it hurt to. He had been laughing so much before, though he wasn't sure at what.

"Thanks, man."

Finn almost went up to his room to rest, but he stopped at the foot of the stairs to glance back at Kurt, who already returned his attention to his television program. Granted, as stupid as Finn took himself for, he could tell Kurt's _total _attention was elsewhere. He had noticed this a lot lately, and he was tired of just sitting by. An idea entered his mind and he decided to head into the kitchen instead of his room. After a few minutes he came back out and took a seat next to Kurt.

"I brought you some warm milk."

Finn had an uneasy smile on his face. Kurt knew this wasn't normal, and even though he was a bit suspicious of Finn's motives, he accepted the offer and returned the smile.

Finn cleared his throat awkwardly before he spoke.

"So…you wanna tell me what's going on at school? I didn't see you there today."

Kurt looked straight on at the TV with an emotionless face, a bit of biting sarcasm in his voice.

"Nothing, _Dad_. I was sick."

"Oh come on, don't do that!"

Kurt continued to blankly stare at the television and avoided looking at Finn. His tone was completely dry.

"Do what?"

"That! Kurt, look at me."

Finn was almost pleading with him, and Kurt knew he had no choice. He took a deep breath and turned his face to his step-brother, using all his willpower to keep it devoid of emotion.

Finn seemed to be the tiniest bit relieved now that he had gotten Kurt to look at him.

"Dude, I know I do and say stupid things, but I'm not dumb. I know something's up. I mean, you fainted last week! And they day before that you came home and were all weird and you didn't leave your bed all weekend and-and Burt told me someone's been messing with you! I just-"

With a groan, Kurt closed his eyes, propped his elbows up on the table in front of him, and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't deal with this right now, and definitely not from _Finn_.

"It's Karofsky, isn't it? Look, I know I haven't defended you in the past but we're kinda like brothers now and I want to be there for you."

Kurt then took a deep breath before he lifted his head up out of his hands and looked at Finn with a small, sad, smile.

"Thank you, Finn. I really do appreciate it, but this is something I can handle on my own."

"But you don't have to-"

Kurt held up a hand, signaling Finn to stop talking.

"But I am. This is my business. I'm asking you to respect that."

Kurt put his empty glass of milk on the end table and stood up.

"Thank you for the milk. Good night."

Kurt gave Finn a sincere smile and Finn immediately got up to envelope his step-brother in a very awkward bear hug. It was a little weird; they never hugged, not mention Finn was a good few inches taller than him. But it was still warm and welcoming and Kurt had to keep himself from breaking down and crying.

Kurt took a few deep breaths to calm himself before pulling away. He held Finn at arm's length, looking him in the eye.

"I really need you to trust that I can handle this on my own."

Finn looked like he wanted to say something else, but just ended up nodding again.

He placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze before they parted ways. It wasn't some huge gesture, but it was still reassuring and it was Finn's way of reminding Kurt that he would always be there for him. And whether Kurt admitted it or not, that was what he needed the most right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Whew! Long chapter! **

**Keep in mind that this chapter and most of the following chapter take place on the same day (Yes, it's a very eventful day.) Also, just a heads up the very last scene in this chapter contains some harsh language and violence. Oh! And we won't be posting a new chapter next week. Sorry :(**

* * *

Chapter 10

Kurt yanked his locker open and began to pack stuff into his messenger bag, just thankful that the school day was over. He hadn't been in school for the past few days and Burt had finally forced him to go so he didn't get too far behind.

The day had been agonizingly long and second hour was just torture. He and Blaine hadn't spoken one word to each other since Kurt's blow up last Friday, not even a single text message. All through Ms. Johnson's class Kurt had sat still, facing forward, not even giving himself half a chance to come into contact with Blaine.

But avoiding Blaine was a walk through a patch of daisies and sunshine compared to avoiding Karofsky. Kurt saw the jock everywhere he went; every corner he turned, every door he opened. Every time Kurt began to talk to someone, there he was, shooting him a deadly glare. It was almost like he was waiting for Kurt to slip up and let this whole mess unravel. Like he _wanted_ Kurt to fear being with his friends. So he could feel just as alone as Karofsky did.

And it worked. Kurt hadn't talked to any of his friends since lunch. He ignored Rachel's pep, and Finn's brotherly glances, keeping to himself the entire time, and he was almost home free.

Kurt shoved the last of his stuff into his bag, slammed his locker shut and began to head towards the exit doors when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

_No- I can't do this right now-_

His body involuntarily flinched at the touch and he twisted to see who it was.

"Mercedes! What are you-?"

_Dammit!_

His moment of relief at the sight of his best friend's face turned into panic. Kurt had tried to avoid everyone, but especially her. If anyone was going to get the truth out of him, she'd be the one to do it.

"Kurt! I've been trying to talk to you all week. Where have you been? And what the hell happened to you this weekend? You totally blew me off."

The hallways were beginning to clear out as Kurt readjusted the bag on his shoulder and looked down at the floor, avoiding her questioning gaze for as long as possible.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've just been busy…"

Mercedes put her hand on her hips like she always did when she knew that she had the upper hand.

"Do _not_ play that game with me! Maybe Berry or Finn will buy it, but I won't. I know you and I _know_ something is up, so you best start telling me."

Kurt gave a nervous chuckle to hide the fear that was now taking over.

"Mercedes, don't-"

"Kurt…"

It almost sounded like a warning when she spoke his name.

"I-I've gotta go-"

Kurt turned around and tried to make it out the door but was stopped when he heard Mercedes speak.

"Where? We have rehearsal today."

Kurt twisted back around to face Mercedes in the now empty hall.

"No, _we_ don't."

Kurt said slowly, hoping that Mercedes would catch onto what he was saying and just leave it at that.

"What are you talking about?"

But he wasn't so lucky. Kurt to a deep breath to brace himself for the reaction that would follow his words.

"I…I'm quitting. I've gotta go-"

Kurt had begun to take a few steps backwards but Mercedes was already on top of him.

"Are you crazy? Sectionals is _tomorrow!_"

Kurt had a pained and shameful look on his face as he internally begged her to just let it go.

"I'm sorry, but I _can't_-"

Mercedes knew that something was seriously wrong, even if Kurt didn't want to do something; he was still a loyal friend and would never bail on a group of people who needed him.

"Would you tell me what the hell is going on? Is this about Blaine?"

"No!"

Kurt shot Mercedes an irritated glance, almost offended that she would suggest Blaine as the cause of his problems.

"Karofsky?"

Kurt shuttered at the name and his face went a little pale. His eyes began to flick around the empty hall, as if he was searching for some sign of Karofsky, terrified that saying his name would somehow make him appear.

"Its him, isn't it? What did he do? Kurt!"

He stumbled backwards as he shook his head furiously.

"I...I can't-"

"You need to talk to me!"

He was practically pleading with her now,

"Mercedes, _please,_ I can't-"

"Yes, you can! Just tell me what he did so I can _help_."

She grabbed Kurt's arms and tried to get him to look at her, but he just stared at the floor.

"KURT!"

His head snapped up at the sound of his name and their eyes locked.

Kurt looked so tired. Tired of putting on a brave front and not letting people in. Tired of wearing that fake smile and acting like everything was okay. He was tired of being scared, of being afraid every time he turned a corner, and he knew he needed someone.

Kurt opened his mouth and let those deadly words escape his lips in a voice no louder than a whisper.

"He said he would kill me."

Kurt's words echoed through the silent hall, heavy as lead. They both stood frozen, their gazes locked on each other. The blood had drained from Kurt's face and he turned a ghostly shade of white as a light sweat broke out on his forehead. Kurt broke from her grip and was out the door before Mercedes could even register what had happened.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and the choir room flooded with Glee kids, each and everyone finishing conversations, greeting friends they hadn't seen all day and preparing for a grueling rehearsal.

Mr. Schuester walked into the room and they fell silent and looked up at him expectantly, eager to get to work.

"Alright guys, we have Sectionals tomorrow and judging by what I heard of the Warblers we have a lot of work left to do!"

Mr. Schuester gave a small clap and the kids quickly split up into groups, beginning their rehearsal right away.

The peace didn't last long.

Rachel kept turning her head to sneer and glare at Quinn and Sam, commenting on how much better she and Finn would sound. Saying things like "our voices were _made_ for each other's" and "have you _heard _us when we harmonize? It's _amazing_." Quinn threw a good couple of nasty things back at her and started yelling at Sam who apparently 'wasn't working hard enough'.

Rachel then decided to refocus her energy on trying to "fix" Santana's solo, which she insisted would be more moving if _she _got to sing it instead. Santana, appalled, threatened to go 'all Lima Heights' on her if she didn't shut up and let her rehearse _her_ solo.

All the while Sam was incredibly close to flipping out because all the yelling was making it hard for him to concentrate.

Then there was Mike and Brittany, who were in their own little dancing world, and completely oblivious to Artie and Tina's seething scowls. That is until Tina made her way over to the dancing duo, shouting at Mike in Chinese and yelling at Brittany to 'get off of her man'.

Brittany almost started crying, scared that Tina was going to karate chop her in half. Artie joined in, yelling at Tina for making Brittany so upset. Mike took Artie's stance only to get yelled at even more by the both of them.

Meanwhile Finn was trying to keep Rachel, who at this point had finally snapped, from mauling him. She was half way in tears and kept shouting "WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME ANYMORE". However, once she realized Finn wasn't going to budge, she turned her attention to Puck, claiming that "You only liked me because I'm a Jew!"

This lead to Finn and Puck fighting; not fighting over Rachel, but fighting about who had to deal with her blubbering the most. At which point Rachel decided to just stand in the corner, sobbing about how 'she never gets anything she wants'.

Mr. Schue took a deep breath to keep calm as he surveyed the room, something was missing but he didn't know what just yet. He kept trying to figure out what it was and Puck and Finn's little shove fight wasn't helping.

For the last five minutes the two boys had been arguing about Rachel and now they were about to start throwing punches. Mr. Schue took one last look around the room, and it dawned on him what, or who, was missing, before rushing over to stop the fight, completely pushed over the edge.

He placed himself in between Puck and Finn, shoving the boys away from each other.

"ENOUGH!"

Mr. Schue's voice rang out through the choir room and the entire glee club quieted down right away.

"Look at you guys! All you care about is yourselves! Now, someone tell me where Kurt and Mercedes are! I know they were in school today and they need to be here!"

"He's not coming. He quit."

Everyone looked to Mercedes who had just entered the room. She was wiping away a few stray tears from her puffy eyes and her voice was shaking.

The room instantly filled with whispers.

"_What did she say?"_

"_He quit!"_

"_No, that can't be right."_

"_We have sectionals tomorrow!"_

"_He wouldn't do that to us."_

Mr. Schue took a step forwards towards Mercedes, momentarily forgetting the boys behind him.

"Quiet!"

The whispers stopped just as suddenly as they had begun and Mr. Schue turned his attention back to Mercedes.

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"I'm not really sure, he wouldn't really tell me, but it's Karofsky. He…"

Finn immediately jumped out from behind his teacher, shaking off the hand that Mr. Schue tried to hold him back with.

"What? What did he do?"

The whole Glee Club stared at Mercedes expectantly; all anxious to hear what Karofsky had done. She looked up, first at Mr. Schue, then at Rachel, before settling her gaze on Finn. Her voice was barely above a whisper but still audible in the strained silence that the choir room now held.

"He threatened to kill him."

No one spoke. No one blinked. No one even took a breath. It seemed like the world had stopped spinning as the seriousness of this dawned on them.

Finn broke forward, the lines of his face etched with rage, unable to control himself.

"Are you freaking kidding me?"

Mr. Schue grabbed Finn's arm to hold him back.

"Finn calm down."

He whipped around to face Schue, furious about this whole situation.

"Calm down? How can I calm down- My brother- Why didn't he talk to _me_ about this! You know what, that's it! Karofsky's dead!"

The whole room was still in a stunned silence as Finn turned back to Puck, Sam, Artie and Mike.

"You guys coming?"

The four of them shared glances before moving forwards towards Finn in silent agreement.

"Let's get this son of a bitch."

"STOP!"

The small crusade paused at the sound of Mr. Schue's voice and slowly turned around.

"Look, I'm _just_ as concerned as you guys are, but violence isn't going to fix this-"

Rachel piped up from her corner of the room where she was now dry-eyed and for once in this whole mess, thinking of someone other than herself.

"Mr. Schue, while we all appreciate your very noble intentions, Karofsky is the kind of guy that only responds to muscle-"

He held up a hand, silencing Rachel immediately, a rare feat, considering there was almost never a moment when she didn't have something to say.

"That doesn't make it right. Now, I'll talk to Principal Sue tomorrow but until then you guys need to remain calm and get back to work. We have a competition tomorrow and you guys need even more prep now that Kurt might not be performing with us."

There was visible tension in the room as Finn and Mr. Schue engaged in a short stare down, a battle of wills.

Finally Finn relented, letting out a sharp breath.

"Fine."

Everyone watched as he trudged back to his spot in the choir room. No one was really sure _what _to do. They knew that they should be practicing, but how could they just act like everything was normal when they knew it wasn't?

It took a little while, but everyone got back into the groove, running numbers, rehearsing challenging notes, but it was different this time. They weren't as focused, or as passionate about their singing; there was an air of uncertainty in the room and everyone could feel it.

* * *

There was less than an hour until kickoff as boys began to pile into the locker room. Locker doors slammed open as the mass of rowdy boys shouted across the room to one another, getting psyched up to play one of the toughest games of the season.

However, in contrast to howling teenage boys surrounding him, Finn was a silent inferno, the air around him buzzing with tension. He quietly opened his locker, keeping to himself. His hushed rage was slowly building inside and becoming noticeable. The way he couldn't help but glance at Karofsky every few seconds, a tight lipped sneer forming every time he did so. The strain coursing through his arms as he went to pull his jersey over his head. The deep breaths he took to keep himself from snapping right then and there.

Blaine opened his locker, which was next to Finn's, and he couldn't help but notice the other boy desperately trying to hide his wrath.

"You okay?"

Finn jerked his head up, producing an automatic response without even thinking.

"Yeah I'm…"

Finn's voice trailed off as his eyes flicked to Karofsky. He looked back at Blaine, not even bothering to hide the fury that he held.

"You know what? No. I'm not fine."

Blaine tilted his head to the side a bit and gave Finn a questioning look.

"It's Kurt."

Blaine perked up at the mention of his crush, listening intently when Finn spoke again.

"You know how he's been acting all weird lately?"

_How could I not…_

"Yeah."

Finn looked completely pissed and slammed his locker shut.

"Well I found out why. Karofsky-"

Finn realized that he was almost shouting when a few other jocks began to listen in on the conversation. He gave each a blistering glare until they turned away, ensuring that their exchange was private. Finn placed his eyes back on Blaine and lowered his voice to a growl.

"Apparently Karofsky said he'd kill him."

Blaine's face twisted into a furious snarl and his whole body tensed up.

"Are you serious? Where is he? I swear I'm gonna-!"

He began to take a step forward when Finn moved in front of him, blocking his path, even though he was so tempted to just let Blaine go and beat the crap out of Karofsky.

"What the hell are you doing, Blaine?"

Blaine seemed baffled.

"What the hell am I doing? I'm going over there to teach Karofsky a lesson, now let me by!"

Finn shook his head and forced Blaine to move backwards until they were once again standing next to the lockers.

"No, as much as I want to, we can't, not here."

Finn glanced around, hoping not too many people had noticed the strange behavior.

"What- He's your freaking brother, Finn. Or does that not mean anything to you?"

Finn was offended that Blaine would even suggest that. Of course he was only doing it to provoke him, but that didn't mean it wasn't working. Finn felt his restraint start to crumble a bit and he got more animated when he spoke.

"What are you talking about, of course it does! And I am just as pissed as you are, but-"

Blaine challenged Finn

"Well then why aren't we over there talking to Karofsky?"

"Because-"

Blaine raised an eyebrow, daring Finn to come up with a reason, but he had none. Internally, he knew he would lose whatever social standing he had, but there was no way he could get around this. Finn let go of all of his self-control and nodded. He discreetly walked over to Puck, Mike, Sam, and Artie.

"C'mon guys. We're settling this now."

Artie looked up at Finn, confused.

"But Mr. Schue told us to wait until tomorrow."

Blaine was then at Finn's side.

"Kurt may not have 'til tomorrow"

Mike stepped forwards, keeping his voice down to a whisper

"Are you sure we should do this? I mean right before a game…"

The boys looked at each other, a bit conflicted about what to do until Puck spoke up.

"Anderson's right. Juvie or no, no one messes with my boy Kurt."

Sam gave a small nod.

"Let's do this."

The six of them seemed to form a small pack as they trampled their way through the locker room. By now they had gained considerable attention from the rest of the jocks who were watching them, waiting for something to happen.

Karofsky was laughing about a joke when Finn called out, only about five feet away.

"Eh Karofsky!"

He looked up to see the pack descending on him and seemed a bit flustered underneath his tough front as he mumbled back.

"What do you homos want?"

Mike piped up from his spot near the back.

"We want you to leave Kurt alone."

Sam took a few steps forward so he was only a few feet from Karofsky

"Yeah, we know what's going on with you two and this needs to stop."

The other football players were beginning to pay close attention now. It's not like this was news to them, Karofsky bullying Kurt, they had all seen it happen and had done nothing to stop it. No one ever actually tried to help Kurt so this had to be something serious.

"You guys don't know anything!"

Karofsky said, a bit frenzied, and turned to face the group full on.

This time Artie spoke up, still menacing even though there was an obvious height difference.

"We're not asking. You leave him alone."

Puck leaned forwards, staring Karofsky straight in the eye, speaking quietly and making otherwise childish words sound petrifying.

"_Or else."_

But Karofsky just smirked, trying to play it off even though he was starting to panic. The whole locker room was now giving their complete attention to this tense exchange, and he had to save face in front of all of these homophobic jocks.

"Or else what? You'll tear up my wardrobe and steal all of my shoes?"

The football team let out a bit of laughter as Finn jerked forward, and Blaine had to hold out an arm to keep him from mauling Karofsky.

An idea had formed in his mind and he glanced over at Finn with a look that said _trust me on this. _Blaine then conjured up every ounce of calm in his body and settled his gaze back on Karofsky, a small chuckle escaping from him.

"Let's go, guys."

The group looked at Blaine, completely appalled. He was, after all, the one who pushed them to do this. Was he seriously backing down _now_?

"I said, _let's go. _It's cool."

Blaine spoke with a relaxed but authoritative tone and the guys batted with their self control as they grudgingly turned away from a smirking Karofsky.

Finn quietly whispered so only Blaine could hear.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

The room was still tense and dead silent; it was as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting. Something was about to happen, someone was about to explode.

Karofsky turned back to his locker to grab his helmet, letting his guard down for a second.

And that's just what Blaine had been waiting for.

In that split second Blaine swung around, fist clenched tight. Karofsky looked up just in time for his face to take the full force of the hit. He stumbled back a bit but was able to steady himself before he fell to the ground.

The entire football team had been watching and they could not believe their eyes, some let out shouts and hollers while others sat there in silent shock.

"You need to back the hell off of Kurt!"

Blaine was fuming, but he couldn't help but let out a small smirk when he noticed that Karofsky's nose began to bleed.

Finn and the rest of the guys were completely caught off guard, not even realizing what had happened until they saw blood and Blaine's self-satisfied grin.

Karofsky brought his hand up to his nose and when he felt the hot liquid he looked down at his hand then up at Blaine; almost unbelieving that he had just drawn blood. Karofsky raised his bloodied fist and slammed it hard toward the smaller boy's face, only for it to hit a locker. Blaine had become too good at dodging hits and Karofsky's fat, slow punches were _nothing_ to him.

There was a moment of silence as the sound of Karofsky's fist on metal rung out through the room, and then all hell broke loose.

No one but Blaine really cared who they were hitting, so long as they were hitting something. The whole football team was on a testosterone filled rampage and there was no end in sight. Guys were slamming each other into lockers, throwing people on the ground, it was complete chaos. Blaine and Karofsky were in the center of it all with Finn, Sam, and Puck throwing a good few hits at him too.

Blaine had his hands on Karofsky's shoulders and was about to knee him hard in the stomach when Coach Beiste stormed the locker room, the door slamming behind her.

The fighting stopped almost immediately, but Blaine and his victim were unaffected by their now silent surroundings as Karofsky crumpled to the floor, Blaine's knee having made contact with his abdomen.

Furious, she roughly peeled Blaine away from Karofsky, allowing the larger boy try and stand.

"Hey! What the hell is going in on! We got a game in twenty minutes! I don't need anyone gettin' hurt so suck it up! If I see any more fights, you're out of the game! Am I clear?"

Karofsky and Blaine were still glaring at each other when Blaine answered back.

"Crystal."

Beiste nodded .

"Good, now you better be out on the field in five or you're not playin'! Bunch of babies!"

Beiste charged out of the locker room, leaving everyone feeling extremely edgy.

Blaine was smirking at Karofsky who was still cringing a bit, and Finn and Puck shared a fist bump, glad to have made their point. Mike and Sam helped Artie back into his chair and everyone went back to their own lockers, the room uncharacteristically quiet for the next couple minutes. Glares were thrown across the room as the team finally made their way out onto the field.

* * *

It was a quiet night out on the football field, everyone but Kurt had already left. This wasn't an unusual sight though. Kurt kept his duffle bag in the boy's locker room and usually waited until the locker room was empty to go ahead and grab it.

Normally he was a bit frustrated having to wait for everyone else to leave, all because of a bunch of homophobes, but today had been an almost cathartic experience. Confiding in Mercedes, though utterly terrifying, _did _seem to lift a weight off his shoulders and he found himself a bit more at ease than he had been in the past week.

He knew it might have been because of all the adrenaline coursing through him at the moment. They had just won a really tough game and being on the Cheerios in that kind of exhilarating environment filled him with the pep he'd been lacking. It was nice, to be somewhat legitimately happy again. And to be around friends.

Kurt took in a few deep breaths of the night air as he walked across the field towards the school, taking the experience as a hopeful sign that things would start to look up.

He entered the school hallway, enjoying the silence and poked his head into the locker room to make sure it was safe.

"Hello?"

When he didn't hear a reply he entered the empty room and made his way over to his locker. Kurt placed his water bottle and cell phone on the bench next to him and then turned back to his locker. Pulling the small door open, he grabbed his bag and set it on the bench. He went back to get his hairspray when his phone buzzed.

Dad: You gonna be home soon, bud?

Kurt smiled to himself, he always laughed at the thought of his dad actually trying to text. He turned back to his locker and began to type out a message that would never get sent.

Without any warning, the door to the locker room was flung open and Karofsky came crashing into the room, only focused on his target.

"Hey, Fag!"

Karofsky was filled with uncontrolled rage as he ran up behind Kurt and shoved him into the open locker. Kurt's phone fell from his grip as his shoulder hit the metal full force. There was a popping noise as his shoulder dislocated and Kurt cried out in pain.

Karofsky reached forward and grabbed the back of Kurt's uniform, pulling his head out of the locker and flipping Kurt around to face him.

"W- What are you d- doing?"

Karofsky put his hand on Kurt's injured shoulder, pushing down hard, his bones grinding against the metal behind him. Kurt shut his eyes tight, letting an earsplitting scream escaping his throat, his face full of agony.

Karofsky increased the weight on Kurt's shoulder as he began to yell in the smaller boy's face.

"I know you told them!"

"W- What? I don't know what y- you're talking about."

Kurt's voice was shaking and he was finding it hard to breathe with all of the pain that was overwhelming his senses. He was trying to think straight, trying to figure out what had made Karofsky do this, but it was impossible to focus with Karofsky's looming presence right in front of him.

"Don't play dumb with me! You told your damn glee fags what happened!"

Karofsky was screaming, he was livid, but underneath all of that there was a sense of desperation, as if he was just as scared as Kurt was.

Kurt opened his eyes and looked straight at Karofsky, an anger now beginning to build in his own core.

"This is insane! I never told anyone that you k- kissed me!"

Karofsky's face morphed into pure fury as he raised his hand and used all of his force to slap Kurt right across the face. The slap rung out through room as Kurt fell to the floor, completely unprepared for the sudden attack.

Karofsky leaned over him, his temper flaring as Kurt groaned in anguish, a bright red handprint already forming on his face.

"Don't lie to me you little Faggot!"

Karofsky kneeled down to Kurt, ready to release his rage.

"You are just a disgusting fa-"

Kurt saw his opportunity and quickly lifted his head to spit in Karofsky's face. The larger boy let out a yelp as he tumbled backwards, grimacing as he tried to wipe the spit out of his eye.

Kurt took his chance and scrambled into a standing position, trying to run.

He glanced down at Karofsky, their eyes locking for a brief second and in that brief second Kurt swore he could almost _feel_ the desperation, fear and fury burning in the other boy's eyes; it was a deadly mix. Karofsky was not in his right mind and Kurt instinctively knew beyond a reasonable doubt that Karofsky was dangerous right now. Too dangerous to try and reason with, too dangerous to even be around. He had to get out of there or he would die.

Kurt looked away from the large jock and began to sprint, but he had only gotten a foot or two when he felt a hand wrap around his ankle, causing him to crash to the floor, his head hitting the wooden bench in the process.

Kurt's vision became a bit blurry, but the fight within him was still alive. He surrendered to animal instinct, his leg shooting backwards, making contact with soft flesh, giving him a moment to once again attempt an escape.

Karofsky flinched when the foot hit his stomach, his hand releasing its grip on Kurt's ankle, allowing the smaller boy a chance to get his feet on the ground. But the pain wasn't enough to immobilize Karofsky and he was standing within seconds of the blow. He reached out a hand, grasping Kurt's injured shoulder and using it to spin him around before he slammed his fist into Kurt's jaw just as he faced him.

Kurt stood there for a second, like someone had paused time itself, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the ground in a broken heap.

Kurt's eyes fluttered open just seconds later, only to feel pain rushing through his body. Pain that he was almost thankful for, but only because it meant he was still alive.

Pain that amplified as Karofsky began to ram his foot into the back of Kurt's skull.

And then Kurt no longer had any strength or fight left in him.

Karofsky kicked him once more.

His body began to go numb.

And another hit.

The lights were dimming.

And another.

He no longer felt the pain.

Another.

Darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Sorry about the one week hiatus but we needed it. We'll try not to do that to you again. We're almost out into the light…kind of. Things will at least get less angsty from here on out….more or less lol. Don't worry, you'll get your fluff soon. Also, the third/final scene talks about suicide and may be a slight trigger so if you want to skip over it, there will be an end note that summarizes what happened in that scene. **

**Love you guys!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Puck and Blaine were huddled on the floor around the small TV in Finn's room, watching as another shot was fired and then James Bond was dashing from an oil drum as an explosion lit up the screen.

"Dude!"

Puck gave Blaine a high-five.

"I know man, it's awesome."

The door opened and the two boys hissed when a bit of light entered the room. The door shut and once their eyes adjusted back to the darkness they could make out Finn walking over to them, snacks and drinks in hand.

"What did I miss?"

He plopped down on the bed as Puck and Blaine stared at each other, unable to describe the pure awesomeness that had just, literally, exploded across the screen.

The boys then sat in silence, mesmerized by the action in front of them and completely unaware of anything else. They had won one of the toughest games of the season and had finally given Karofsky what he'd deserved for so long. Everything in the universe seemed so right, so what could possibly be wrong?

Blaine's mind snapped away from the movie in sudden realization.

"Hey, what time is it?"

Finn stared at his watch, angling it this way and that, trying to catch some of the light from the TV so he could read the numbers.

"Uhhh, it's, uhh I think it's"

"Dude."

Puck interrupted Finn's pointless search for light as he dangled his cell phone for Finn to see.

"Oh, right. Phone."

Puck looked down at his phone and read off the time.

"It's eleven thirty-eight. Why? You gotta go home?"

Blaine shook his head, barely visible in the dim room.

"No, my parents are out of town. I'm just thinking, shouldn't Kurt have been home by now?"

Finn waved a hand at Blaine, now focused on the screen as he replied.

"He probably went over Rachel's or something-"

There was a loud bang as the front door slammed closed. Blaine and Finn stared at each other for a second, their faces dropping as they realized who it probably was. Finn scrambled to grab the remote and paused the movie before cautiously calling out,

"Kurt?"

The only answer he received were quick, pounding footsteps storming up the staircase. The guys shared a quick worried glance before jumping to their feet and rushing out of the room, Finn leading the way.

"Yo, Kurt are you- Oh my god! Kurt!"

Blaine felt his stomach twist into knots and he almost wanted to heave when battered boy turned to face them.

He was standing at the top of the stairs, leaning on the banister looking utterly broken. He wasn't standing straight, a bit slumped over as he held his left arm close to his chest, avoiding any movement in his shoulder. There was a nasty, purplish bruise forming on his swollen jaw and a bit of blood had dried where it had dripped down his forehead.

He looked like death, his eyes drooping and every part of him looking spent of every bit of energy. It seemed like it had taken a great amount of sheer will to just stand there and not slump to the ground. Kurt glanced up at them with weary eyes, no emotion showing through the once joyous blue pools.

Finn immediately took a step towards him.

"Kurt. W- What _happened_?"

Kurt drew back, careful not to jostle his injured arm, suddenly defensive when Finn began to invade his personal space.

"Get the hell away from me."

Blaine looked at Kurt with pleading eyes, but Kurt just shot back daggers.

Finn noticed the small exchange and took a small step back, he spoke softly but his voice was underlined with fury.

"Did Karofsky do this to you?"

Kurt stepped forward, grimacing as he did so, but still bristling with the beginnings of what was sure to be a furious case of rage.

"It's not your business, _Finn_. None of this was. Just leave me alone!"

Finn was tired of people telling him that this wasn't any of his business and it showed when he drew himself to his full height, using it as a sort of power over Kurt who was still slumping against the banister of the stairs.

"You're my brother so it _is_ my business. We're talking about this right now!"

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You just think you can do whatever the hell you want, don't you?"

"Kurt, you need to talk about this."

"C'mon, dude, we're just trying to help."

Kurt snapped his head up towards Blaine and Puck who had just spoken.

"Help?"

Kurt shook his head a bit and let out a small, dark laugh, thinking about just how much these guys had _helped_ him in the last couple of hours. He placed his eyes back onto Blaine and Puck, handing them each a furious, scorching glare.

"I don't want you help. So just go."

The pair got the message and quickly stumbled backwards, heading straight for Finn's room. They had their ears pressed against the door the second it closed, ensuring that they heard every single word of the heated exchange.

Kurt watched as the two boys scrambled back into the bedroom, his gaze lingering on the door for a second or two. He then turned his glare back on Finn, silence filling the space around them.

Their eyes locked and neither could look away. Kurt's voice broke the silence, a loud growl in the almost silent house, but his demeanor was unnervingly calm.

"You want to talk? Fine. We'll talk. First of all, you are _not_ my brother. Second, you need to learn to keep out of my business-"

Finn tried to interject his defense, but it fell on deaf ears.

"He was going to kill you, Kurt!"

By this point Kurt was a crackling ball of wrath, each word encompassing more and more of his rage, each second adding the growing animosity he felt.

"And thanks to you he almost did! God! You always have to play the hero, don't you?! Well you're not, Finn! You're just an insecure coward who walks all high and mighty thinking he can meddle around in everyone's life and just because it's _you_ doing it, it's perfectly okay! But it's _not_! So stop thinking that being my _step_-brother gives you some sort of right to stick your nose in my business! Especially since less than a year ago you were too embarrassed to be seen around me! You are _such_ a hypocrite! Trying to act like some noble high school superman who goes after the big bully in defense of his poor, helpless _fag_ of a brother so the whole damn school can praise you like some friggin' idol! But that's a little ironic when you're just as much of a homophobic ass as he is! And don't even try to act like you're okay with who I am, because I know you're not! I mean, the second I show even an _ounce_ of interest in someone you freak out just like every other creep in this school! And just because Blaine's your friend doesn't mean I can't like him! Because I do, a lot!"

Kurt took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second as the house was once again filled with a silence that seemed even quieter now that he had stopped screaming. He took a moment before flicking his gaze back up to Finn. His words were steady, calm, measured. And brimming with fury.

"You have caused _nothing_ but trouble for me. And I don't need it. I don't need you, or your damn 'brother' crap, or anything else for that matter. You are _not_ a hero, Finn. So stop acting like one."

Blaine sat silently on the other side of the door, trying to make sense of what Kurt had just said.

"_And just because Blaine's your friend doesn't mean I can't like him!"_

He was full of too many emotions right now and didn't even notice when Kurt's door crashed shut or when Finn came into the room, eyes downcast, shoulders slumped, his whole body radiating defeat.

"_Because I do, a lot!"_

Blaine's heart was pounding and breaking at the same time. All he wanted to do was run into Kurt's room and hold him and tell him that he felt the same, but there was no way he could. Especially not with the guys here.

_He likes me. All this time and- I wonder how long. My god this is all my fault. I shouldn't have pushed Finn and- he looked so terrible. _

The three of them were dead silent, neither of them really sure what the proper reaction to this was. No one looked at each other, no one said a word.

Puck was the first to speak.

"I- I think I'm gonna head home."

Finn raised a hand in goodbye and Puck slowly made his way out of the room. They heard the front door close and then Blaine looked up at Finn, who had taken a seat in his desk chair.

"I should probably go home, too."

Finn gave a small nod, a weak 'bye' the only sound he made.

Blaine walked down the stairs and had his hand on the door knob when a sob rang out through the house. Kurt was up there crying and Blaine knew about it and yet he couldn't do a single thing in comfort. Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and was out the door before his heart could break anymore.

* * *

Blaine stood in his kitchen, putting small scoops of vanilla ice cream into a bowl. His head was full of thoughts of Kurt.

His voice, his face, his smile.

His pain, his anger, his injuries.

It was a mixed bag of emotions swirling around in his head like a tornado and Blaine couldn't ignore the raging storm of thoughts anymore. Kurt wasn't supposed to show up like this, to just appear and ruin Blaine's plans of having a quiet existence the last three years of high school. But there he was, beautiful and broken, causing Blaine to question every decision he had made.

The front door shut and Blaine snapped out of his thoughts to look up and see his brother coming towards the kitchen.

"Hey Coop."

"Hey Blainers! How'd the game go? Sorry I couldn't make- what's wrong?"

Cooper's happy-go-lucky attitude seemed to fall off his face and he looked very concerned when he saw Blaine, who was now slicing a banana on top of his ice cream.

"What? Nothing. Why?"

"You're making a _banana split_, Blaine. A banana-freaking-split! That is an Anderson Brothers telltale sign that something is not okay. Now what's wrong?"

Blaine gave his brother a forced grin.

"What? A guy can't enjoy a good bowl of ice cream without being questioned?"

Cooper just crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow at his brother. Blaine sighed as he closed the cap on the chocolate syrup and looked up at Cooper.

"We can share it."

Cooper still stared at him with a worried gaze and waited as Blaine grabbed two spoons and sat down at the kitchen table. Cooper immediately sat and grabbed a spoon, unable to keep from digging into the sweets in front of him.

"So what's going on? Is it school?"

Cooper was busily shoving ice cream into his mouth and Blaine couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. His brother was acting just like himself, protective and caring, but perpetually starving whenever food was around.

"Yeah."

Blaine's eyes seemed to glaze over a bit.

"It's just…there's this guy-"

Cooper quickly gulped down the bit of ice cream in his mouth so he could speak, instantly assuming the worst about Blaine's comment.

"Holy crap. Is someone messing with you?! We're not going through this again! I'm calling Dad and you're going to Dalton-"

He had pulled out his cell phone and was about to start dialing their father's number when Blaine caught his attention.

"Cooper!"

Cooper halted his dialing and turned to Blaine, waiting for the younger boy to say something.

"It's not that. I…He's…ugh"

Blaine let out a sigh of frustration and Cooper's gaze softened as he watched his brother.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

The edges of Cooper's lips curved up a bit in a knowing smile as it dawned on him.

"You like this guy, don't you?"

Blaine buried his face in his hands, signaling to Cooper that had he guessed right.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to just go to this new school and forget about all that stuff and just be normal-"

"Blaine-"

Blaine's body tensed, clearly annoyed and unwilling to hear the same lecture for the billionth time.

"I know!"

He took a breath, realizing he was being a bit harsher than he wanted to be. Arguing with his brother was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I know. I _am_ normal. But I… I can't go through what I went through Coop. I can't."

Blaine's eyes were pleading with his brother, though neither of them was really sure for what. Cooper reached out an arm and gave Blaine's hand a small, comforting pat.

"I know. Trust me, I don't want you to. But I do want you to be happy. So…this guy, um…"

Blaine supplied Cooper with a name and as he did, an almost unnoticeable smile crept onto his lips.

"Kurt."

"Kurt."

Cooper repeated the name to make sure he heard it right. His eyes then glinted with mischief and an impish smile appeared.

"Is he a sausage lover too?"

Blaine's mouth dropped open and he pretended to be annoyed as he rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide his grin. His brother was the master of breaking the tension in situations like this.

"Cooper."

"Sorry. Couldn't stop myself. But in all seriousness, is he gay?"

Blaine gave a firm nod and then picked up the second spoon to join his brother in devouring the ice cream as he spoke.

"Yes. Definitely. He's been a friend of mine for a while, a really good friend, and I just found out he likes me too. Apparently he and Finn had talked about it before."

Cooper's eyebrow quirked up at this new bit of information.

"Oh, he knows Finn?"

Blaine stopped his eating to look Cooper in the eye.

"They're step brothers."

Cooper's mouth formed a small 'o' when he heard it and his head tipped to the side just the slightest bit.

"Oh. Well that makes things a little awkward."

There was a small, sarcastic smile on Blaine's lips when he spoke.

"Yeah. Just a little."

"So does he know you're gay?"

A weird feeling formed in Blaine stomach at that word. It had been so long since he really identified with it.

"No. No one does."

His thoughts seemed to drift off for a moment and in that moment all he could see was Kurt on that staircase looking like some handsome, yet tragically damaged, porcelain doll. He opened his mouth to speak, slowly coming back to reality.

"But…there's more. He- there's this guy, the right guard on the team, Karofsky, he's… he threatened to kill him. And I should've seen it coming. I mean, he had been acting really different and just- it was so familiar. Like-"

"Like the way you used to act."

"Yeah…"

Blaine looked down and began to poke at the ice cream, feeling guilt wash over him.

_This is how Coop felt when I pushed him away? Oh God._

The guilt only intensified as he continued his explanation.

"Well, apparently today after the game, Karofsky found him and beat the crap out of him. He-he's fine…kind of…not nearly as bad as I was but still, I kinda feel responsible. Like I should have done something more and-"

Blaine's head shot up to look at Cooper the second he was interrupted.

"Well maybe there is something you can do."

He gave his brother a questioning look.

"Tell him how you feel."

Blaine began to shake his head, unwavering in his decision.

"No. Absolutely not."

Cooper looked at his brother, almost a bit disappointed.

"You've been there, Blaine. You know how alone he feels."

Blaine shot up from his chair, completely outraged.

"Exactly! I've been there! And I'm not going back! Not after everything I've had to do to fix it! No!"

"Blaine-"

"I said _No_!"

"Ok! I got that! But can you just hear me out for a second?"

Blaine reluctantly sat down, trying to rid himself of his irritation and actually listen to his brother.

"This guy clearly has feelings for you and has probably never felt so alone in his life. You went through what he's going through now. Didn't you ever wish that there was just one person who was like you and could help you? Just one person you who really cared, who understood?"

Blaine looked up at his big brother, hazel eyes as big as saucers.

"I had you."

Cooper's features softened and he spoke quieter.

"But this is different, Blaine. You know it is. He needs you. And to be perfectly honest, I think you need him just as much."

Blaine chewed on the inside of his mouth as he considered Cooper's words.

"I…I need to think about it."

Cooper gave a supportive nod.

"That's understandable."

A warm smile pulled at the corner's of Blaine's lips, feeling a bit of pride at his brother's care and maturity.

"When did you get so grown up?"

Cooper immediately shot back with a quick witted comment.

"When your last growth sprit never came"

Blaine just rolled his eyes as his brother who had, notoriously, ruined a perfectly sentimental moment.

"There it is."

* * *

It was the final hours of what seemed to be the longest and most excruciating weekend of Kurt's life.

He had been so tired.

Tired of meetings, of talking and explaining.

Tired of worrying about his dad every time he started yelling at Karofsky's, of Mr. Schuester's voice trying to reason with everyone and defend Kurt.

Tired of Karofsky's glares and Ms. Pillsbury's _ridiculous_ pamphlets.

Tired of that stupid feeling of hope he got when Principle Sue said she was going to expel Karofsky.

The feeling of hope that burned inside him, that made him feel that, finally, everything would be okay again, or at least somewhat okay. That feeling that fell to shit at the next meeting when he was told that the school board wasn't going to do anything. That he was just gonna have to 'deal' with the bullying and the threats. And it all just seemed so unfair.

He had no control.

He was going to have to go to school tomorrow, no exceptions. He was going to have to go through the terror again and again and every day because he apparently "chose" this life and it was going to suck and he was just going to just have to deal with it.

Well he was tired of 'just dealing with it'.

He had lain on his bed for hours, trying to find the willpower to face another day. But it seemed the harder he tried, the less willpower he had. The more he just wanted to start over. A new life. A new chance. Because according to the people who had control, he was doomed. And that was that.

But a thought had been creeping into his mind since the night after that game. A thought that he had tried so hard to push away, completely terrified by it, but he couldn't anymore.

For a moment, as he laid on the cold, locker room floor with Karofsky smashing his shoe into his skull, he felt like he was going to die. And in that small moment before everything went dark, he had felt calm, at peace. Because dying meant he didn't have to go through any more torture. It would all simply be over. And if there was some sort of afterlife, at least it would be a new start.

He knew he shouldn't have been alone, not with such poisonous thoughts coursing through his mind.

But he was.

Because he had no friends. He had pushed every single one away. There was no one there. No one to save him from the dark abyss that he was only steps away from falling into. No one to help him fight against such a horrid thought. And so the thought had swelled, until it became an idea. An idea that grew until it was the only thing he could think about. Until it was the only thing that made sense.

He _had_ to take his own life.

The very idea of it made him sick. He had sat on the edge of his bed, silent, arms wrapped around himself, shaking violently. His breathing became shallow and soon he was hyperventilating. His eyelids began to flutter and he finally just squeezed them shut, slowly rocking back and forth, trying to keep himself from falling into the ferocious panic attack that was about to happen whether he liked it or not.

He had no control. No way out. No way to end this daily barrage of torment. No other possible solution other than to end his own life. And he was scared to death at the thought of it, but he couldn't think another way to protect himself from this living hell.

It was cowardice, yes, but what other choice did he really have? In a world where everyone else made decisions for his life, this seemed like the only thing he could have control over.

With every tear that dripped off of his cheek, he could feel every ounce of emotion in his body slowly drain out with them. He began to blocked off any thought of his dad, or Finn, or Mercedes.

Or Blaine.

The wet stains below his eyes began to dry and he stopped shaking so horribly. An icy layer formed over his heart as he did his best the let himself go completely numb, the only feeling in his body being the blood coursing through his wrists boiling with desire to be freed. He tried his hardest not to second guess himself. He just had to do it. No emotion, just action.

It was around three in the morning. The house was as silent as death as he crept down the stairs and entered the kitchen. His eyes fell on the rack of perfectly sharpened knifes. He pulled out the one on the far left, his favorite one. It always produced a nice, clean cut. He rested the smooth part of it on his wrist, almost enjoying the feel of the cool metal on his warm skin. He slowly turned the metal upwards until the thin blade was sitting on his vein.

And as the blade began to rest on his skin the reality of his situation hit him like a high speed train flying down the tracks.

He pulled the knife away in a movement quicker than lightning, only thinking that he had to get that knife away from himself as fast as possible. He leaned forwards, placing both hands on the counter in front of him. Knife still in hand, he closed his eyes and drew in a few shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down.

_I can't. At least, not here._

He tried to think of a better place to do it, though it felt more like an excuse to not go through with it now. But after a little self-conflict, he decided; the locker room. Karofsky was the one who had pushed him to this point; Karofsky would be the one to find him lying in a pool of his own blood.

He packed the knife away in his cheerios bag and desperately tried to get some sleep.

But there was no possible way he was going to be able to get any sleep tonight. He was tossing and turning for hours with images crawling into his mind, thoughts invading his head. He was being worn down from the inside out. And just before he shut his eyes, he did something he thought he'd never do.

He prayed.

He prayed for someone to come along. Someone like him. Just one person who cared about him in a way he'd never been cared for. Who understood and could look him in the eye and let him know that everything would be okay. Someone who could save him from himself.

* * *

**End of Chapter Note: For those of you who skipped the last scene, Sue tried to expel Karofsky (she's still the principal right now) however the school board didn't want to do anything about it so Karofsky got away with beating up Kurt. Kurt didn't know what else to do so he tried to commit suicide but he backed out and decided to wait until the next day in the locker room. Before he went to bed, however, he prayed (something he never thought he'd do) for someone to come along and save him from himself.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"C'mon, move it, Anderson!"

Blaine picked up the pace a bit, he and the rest of the football team were running the track, but his focus was elsewhere. From the second Blaine had stepped out on the field he had been continuously glancing over at the boy cheerleader, who had appeared to be alright today.

But something was still off. He _seemed_ to be happy, but he was nervous. He was fidgeting and almost hyperactive as he talked with everyone, like he was anxious about something.

The team finished their warm up run and most of them were bent over, trying to catch their breath. Blaine took this chance to once again look over at Kurt as he spoke with some blonde cheerleader.

Kurt was glancing around as they talked, unable to stand still. The cheerleader said something, apparently funny, and Kurt forced a smile, trying to act normal.

_He's breaking down._

Blaine could see it in everything Kurt did, he was coming unhinged and it was almost painful to watch.

He shook it off, trying to get his head back in the game. He and Sam had been passing the ball back and forth and he really didn't want his rep to be "the guy who always gets hit in the face with balls".

"So how was Sectionals?"

"Um, it was good. We got first place. Though it still kinda sucks that Kurt couldn't be there."

Blaine nodded.

_Dammit. Why'd he have to mention him?_

Blaine caught the ball and threw it back, his attention shifting back to the boy who had stolen his heart. But when he looked back at Kurt, he didn't see the broken boy who had slumped against the staircase for support, too weary to stand by himself.

Instead, he could only focus on how beautifully the sun shined off Kurt's face. He hadn't taken notice of it in such a long time. He skin always looked flawless, but something about the light hitting his face brought a whole new life to him. Maybe it was just that the sunshine made his perfect, chestnut hair look soft from miles away. Or maybe it was the way it made his glasz eyes so much more captivating. Or the way it made his smile appear so much brighter.

_Oh god, his smile! _

Fake or not, every time it appeared on Kurt's face Blaine felt his whole body go numb. Time seemed to almost stop just so he could appreciate every aspect of that smile. It was like no matter how he felt, if Kurt was smiling, then he was too.

And that's when it finally hit him.

That feeling of bliss that his brother was always talking about, always saying he deserved, _that's_ how he felt when he looked at Kurt.

Not just when he looked at Kurt, but when he was even near him. Whether they were laughing, crying, yelling; that feeling of bliss was always there lying just below the surface. And Blaine had always just been too afraid to admit it.

And maybe it was just because he had confirmation that the feelings were shared, but Blaine didn't feel afraid anymore.

Kurt had been so strong. He had done all he could to push away his friends to protect them until he was fighting this battle alone. Just like Blaine had been fighting his alone. And his brother was right, they needed each other. Now more than ever. Granted, Blaine wasn't ready to shout it from the rooftops just yet, but Kurt needed to know how he made him feel, how he had always made him feel ever since he first saw him on that football field. And Blaine was about to stop himself from running across that very field, that very moment to finally tell Kurt what had taken him far too long to realize…

But a football to the face stopped him instead.

_Dammit!_

* * *

Kurt unzipped his duffle bag, the sound seeming ten times louder than it actually was in the empty locker room. The shine of the metal in his bag immediately caught his attention.

He took a deep breath, letting the silence of the locker room surround him as he stared down at the perfectly sharpened knife sitting on top of the towel in his bag. He sat still for a few seconds, but when he finally began to reach for it, something stopped him.

It was different this time.

The knife no longer signified an end to his suffering, now it was just cold, unfeeling metal that held no meaning for him. He blinked a few times, accepting this new emotion into his body.

He picked up the knife and once again placed it on his wrist and noticed how uncomfortable the sharp edge was where it dug into his skin.

_What the hell was I thinking?_

The whole thought of it now just seemed foolish and rash. He had been so desperate for an answer to all his problems that all his reason became blind. He couldn't do this. Just because he hit one rough spot in his life, it didn't mean things couldn't get better.

He placed the knife back in his bag, ready to go home and just forget about the whole thing, but the sound of footsteps by the door alarmed him and he panicked. He quickly covered the blade with a towel and threw the bag to the side.

"Hey."

Kurt turned around, only to see Blaine standing in the doorway, charming as ever, with an uncertain smile on his face. Kurt found it hard not to blush. It had been so long since he felt that way, but something about seeing the florescent light caught in Blaine's dark curls brought peace to his mind. He wasn't thinking about Karofsky, or threats, or beatings, or the knife lying in his bag. Just how unbelievably beautiful Blaine looked in such, normally, unflattering lighting.

"Hey."

Kurt almost breathed out the word and he gave a slightly uneasy smile, but the tension between them was obvious. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since the fight in Kurt's room over a week ago.

Blaine slowly made his way over Kurt, as if trying to break through the giant sea of awkwardness between them.

"So…I know we haven't really said anything to each other-"

"Is there something you needed?"

Blaine was caught a little off guard by the other boy's directness, but regardless of how extremely handsome Blaine looked, Kurt knew there was no salvation for their friendship and wanted to get this awkward situation out of the way as soon as possible so he could get home and put that knife away before someone found out about his stupid idea. Blaine sat down on the bench that was nailed on the floor between the two rows of lockers, trying to calm his nerves.

"Um, yeah actually I, uh, I wanted to talked to you."

Kurt immediately fell back into his defensive state, sick of hearing those words. He rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Now will you sit down? Please?"

Blaine's voice was so calm and so matter-of-fact. Kurt had always loved the sound of his voice. It was so clear and crisp with a little bit of a rough edge to it, like an ocean with a small tide. He couldn't find it in himself to turn away from it. He took the seat next to Blaine, his eyes continuously glancing down at the duffle bag below them.

Blaine paused for a second, as if trying to figure out exactly the right words to say.

"I…I'm worried about you, Kurt."

"Don't be. I'm fine."

"Just because you keep saying that you're fine doesn't mean you are. And to be honest, you're clearly not."

Kurt chewed on his bottom lip and stared down at his hands in his lap. His words came out as a whisper.

"I'm fine, Blaine."

The shorter boy spoke softly, not accusing Kurt of anything, merely stating the facts.

"No, Kurt, you're not."

Blaine turned to look at the boy as he spoke,

"I- I know that what happened on Friday was really hard on you. And when I saw you once you got home, you just looked so…broken, and it hurt me to see you like that. You're going through a lot right now, but you can't just push people away like this. Not when so many people are willing to help you. Not when there are so many people that care about you."

Kurt took in a shaky breath, feeling the familiar sting of tears trying to break free when he realized what Blaine was saying was true.

"I-I'm so scared Blaine. I can't-"

Kurt felt a warm hand rubbing soothing circles into his back. He closed his eyes and let himself start to melt under Blaine's touch. He looked up to see hazel eyes staring back at him, so soft and warm. Like little yellow flames melting the ice around his heart, begging him to open up.

"You can talk to me."

Blaine's quiet and comforting words were all it took to get Kurt to finally reach out. He felt his breathing stutter and his heart began to beat faster in anticipation. He took a deep breath, throwing all of his trust into the boy's concerned gaze. He quickly reached down to the duffle bag that was sitting at their feet and pulled off the towel.

"Kurt…"

Blaine's eyes went wide and he shot his head up towards Kurt, who had his eyes glued to the ground, too ashamed to meet the other boy's gaze.

A single tear rolled down Kurt's cheek, and he promptly wiped it away.

"It-It was a stupid idea. I just- I don't know. I-…I didn't know what else do to."

Kurt used every ounce of his willpower to keep anymore tears from falling, but it was all in vain.

The gentle warmth of Blaine's finger as it stroked across his cheek, wiping away the couple of tears that had already managed to escape, was just enough to push Kurt over the edge. His defense began to crumble down; every barrier he put up to keep people out, every restraint he put on himself to hold everything in finally tore away.

He found himself leaning on Blaine, gripping onto his jersey as his broke out in sobs. He had bottled everything up for so long, it was almost freeing. Like a giant weight had been lifted off of his heart. The tender heat of Blaine's body as his arms wrapped around Kurt was melting his icy front and all he could do was cry harder. It was so easy to cry into those arms, so natural. Almost like those arms were made to comfort him and care for him.

"Shh, it's okay, Kurt. I'm here."

He was crying so hard he didn't even notice the small, involuntary kiss that Blaine placed on the top of his head.

Neither of them knew how long they sat like that, Kurt wrapped in Blaine's protecting arms, clinging onto each other, needing this intimacy for so long. Finally the tears started to slow and Kurt began to take deep, calming breaths. When his eyes finally dried, he pulled himself away from Blaine, even though he so desperately wanted to stay close. Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's cheek, wiping away the last of his tears with his thumb.

"I don't know what I'd do if I found out you did something like that."

Kurt leaned into the touch, his voice coming out as a whisper when he replied and he had to stop himself from placing his hand on top of Blaine's.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was being stupid. I just… felt so _stuck_. And honestly I still don't know what to do."

"Are you gonna change schools?"

Kurt looked up at him, a little bewildered. The thought had never once crossed his mind.

"I-Is that what you would do?"

"That's…"

Blaine let his voice trail off as he pulled his hand away and took a deep breath.

_It's now or never._

"That's what I did do."

Kurt felt a small rush of anticipation run through him. Blaine _never_ talked about his life at his other school. The shorter boy let a small, nervous smile flit across his face and then fixed his gaze on the ground, replying with no hesitation.

"I-I was outted at my old school. I had a, um, crush on my friend, wrote about it in a journal, he saw it, told the whole school, and that was that. I couldn't handle it so, I left. I ran away and came here. Started over."

Kurt looked completely baffled.

"You're gay? Wh- Why didn't you tell me before?"

Blaine shook his head slowly.

"Because I couldn't tell anyone. I- I couldn't risk going through that again. But seeing you like that, it reminded me of how I was and I couldn't bear to let you go through that, at least not alone."

He glanced back up at Kurt and almost swooned when he saw the smile on the taller boy's face, the smile that he had waited so long to see again.

"But…you're gay. For sure? 'Cause you're pretty convincing at being straight-"

Blaine silenced Kurt with a finger to his lips and he could almost hear the sound of his heartbeat picking up.

"One hundred percent."

His gaze flicked to Kurt's lips as he dragged his finger across the soft skin. He brought his hand up and pushed a bit of Kurt's hair back then let his hand drift down the side of his face, carefully tilting his chin upwards. Kurt's eyelids fluttered at the soft touch, almost unbelieving that this was happening. Blaine began to move forwards slowly, hearing the small hitch in Kurt's breath as their lips touched.

It was so simple and short, but it was everything he ever wanted. It was romantic and sweet and kind and filled with cotton candy and rainbows. It was like something out of those chick flicks that make you use a good amount of tissues; it was perfect and cheesy and beautiful and Kurt had never felt so happy in his life.

_That_ was his first kiss.

Blaine pulled away, his face almost as red as Kurt's. He turned his head bashfully and licked his lips a little, almost savoring the taste of the other boy. His breath was short and he had a little trouble speaking again.

"I- I feel like I've had to stop myself from doing that since the moment I first saw you."

Blaine gave a small, nervous chuckle before looking back at Kurt. The taller boy was slightly biting his bottom lip and Blaine had to tear his eyes away from the sight to meet Kurt's gaze. Their eyes locked and they immediately reached for each other as they plunged into a second, more passionate kiss.

Kurt's arms made their way around Blaine's neck. They began kissing harder, the temperature of the room starting to skyrocket in the process. It was as if everything, all those feelings they had been pushing back, hiding from one another, hiding from themselves, were finally rising to the surface and flooding through their lips.

Blaine pulled his mouth away and started to leave a trail of slow, smoldering kisses all down his jaw. Kurt's breathing went ragged when the other boy reached his neck and he began to twist his fingers in Blaine's hair, letting himself relax as Blaine did amazing things to his soft skin. Suddenly, Blaine grasped Kurt's shirt to pull him closer and Kurt gasped a bit, his lips parting slightly. Blaine took this chance to capture his lips in another kiss.

Seconds melted into minutes. Nothing else mattered. It was just them, two people finally sharing their feelings for each other. Finally realizing what pure bliss felt like. They were in their own little bubble of happiness, oblivious to the world that was rushing on around them.

Nothing could hurt them, or harm them.

Not even the person who, unbeknownst to Kurt and Blaine, had innocently stumbled into the locker room and got a glimpse of the new romance.

* * *

**IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!**

**Phew, but seriously! What a refresher! Hope it was worth the wait. :) **

**Buuuuuuttt we can't keep them happy for too long. Who do you think the mysterious person is? O.o We're only about half way through the story so stick with us. There's **_**much**_** more to come :) **


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so we just wanted to thank you guys for all the amazing reviews! You guys are awesome and we hope you keep enjoying the story. :)**

* * *

Chapter 13

Blaine: Hi :)

Kurt: Shouldn't you be working?

Blaine: I can't. I have a serious problem.

Kurt: What?

Blaine: I think I'm addicted to your kisses.

That face was absolutely adorable. :D

Kurt: Stop making me blush. 3

Blaine: But seriously. Can I come over today? I need to kiss you again.

Kurt: What about Finn? I can't imagine you'd want him finding out about us.

Blaine: He has afterschool spanish tutoring today. Something about needing to get his grades up so Sam doesn't take quarterback. Idk.

Kurt: And if anyone asks why you're coming over?

Blaine: You're tutoring me in french.

Kurt: But you're not taking french.

Blaine: More reason why I need a tutor.

Kurt: You can't just say I'm tutoring you in this class?

Blaine: Pfft. Like anyone would believe in need a tutor in THIS class. xD

Kurt: -.-

Blaine: Oh! Btw. Did you hear about Karofsky?

Kurt: You mean how Beiste said she'd kick him off the team if he laid a finger on me? Yeah.

Blaine: You don't seem too excited about it.

Kurt: I guess I've gotten used to not getting my hopes up. :/

The bell's about to ring. We better put our phones away.

Blaine: Kk. See you at our frenching lesson.

Kurt: Lol. Please tell me that was autocorrect.

Blaine: Sure… ;)

* * *

The bell rang and Kurt nervously walked down to the lunch room. It had been a rough couple of weeks and he knew things wouldn't go back to normal in a day, but he still had to try to make things right again.

He pushed open the doors to the cafeteria. He spotted a familiar table filled with two girls gossiping and laughing. Two girls whom he had neglected and blown off on countless occasions. Whose calls and texts he had purposefully ignored. Whom he had lied to and let down for reasons they probably saw as selfish. Two girls who were supposed to be his best friends. He wasn't sorry for pushing them away, but he didn't feel good about it either. Sucking up his pride, he made his way over to them and stood there awkwardly for a moment or two. A small feeling of fear filled him.

_I wouldn't blame them if they didn't forgive me._

"Um, is anyone sitting here?"

Rachel and Mercedes stop their giggling and looked up him, not realizing he had been standing there. They exchanged a quick glance and Rachel gave a tiny nod before Mercedes stood up and walked over to Kurt. He couldn't quite read her face, but he had come to expect the worst out of everything. Kurt closed his eyes and his nose scrunched up a bit, as if he was already wincing at the barrage of insults that were sure to come.

But instead he found himself in her tight embrace.

Kurt's body relaxed and he quickly he returned the hug, almost collapsing into her arms. Mercedes held him even tighter and spoke straight into his ear.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

She quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek and then leaned back so they could look each other in the eye. A single tear made its way down Kurt's cheek and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.

"So am I."

A small laugh escaped from Mercedes and she quickly wiped away his tear before leaning into another hug. Moments later he felt another pair of arms around him coupled with the smell of Rachel's signature perfume.

"It's great to have you back, Kurt."

Kurt's smile grew even brighter as the trio embraced. He had no words; his smile said everything he wanted to.

Suddenly Rachel detached herself from the other two, looking as excited as a kid in a candy store.

"Ohmygod! We _have_ to tell you about sectionals!"

Rachel grabbed Kurt's arm, dragging him over to his usual seat at the lunch table. He gave a small, involuntary laugh and he quickly found himself sandwiched between his two best friends, gossiping as if the past weeks never happened. And Kurt felt as though things could finally be normal again.

Or maybe be even better.

* * *

"And, this is, um, my room."

Kurt was nervous as he pulled open the door and let Blaine step inside. He surveyed the room quickly before turning to face Kurt with a quirky smile on his face.

"I've already seen your room."

Realization flashed across Kurt's face.

"Oh, right, the movie night."

His cheeks flushed with color and he had to look away from Blaine, who noticed the boy's blush immediately.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Blaine let out a small laugh.

"Kurt, you're blushing, what it is?"

Kurt was unable to meet Blaine's amused gaze as he stumbled through his answer.

"I, well, I just remembered how, um, _good _you looked that night."

Kurt quickly went to close the door in an attempt to hide his cherry red face. When he turned back around, Blaine was right in front of him.

He placed his hands on Kurt's hips, causing him to look down to once again to hide his blush. Blaine smiled, using his index finger to lift Kurt's chin so he was looking into his eyes.

"Did I ever tell you,"

He placed a quick kiss on Kurt's cheek

"How cute you look,"

Blaine tilted his head to kiss the other cheek before moving so their lips were brushing when he spoke.

"When you blush."

A smile appeared on Kurt's face as Blaine leaned forward a bit, closing the gap between them to place a sweet, chaste kiss on Kurt's lips.

A silence settled over them and Blaine turned his head, glancing around the room. He quickly realized that the only seat with space for two was the bed. This time it was his turn to blush as he let out a nervous cough and looked back to Kurt.

"So, do you want to…sit? Or something? I, uh, I mean if you wanted to do something else…"

Kurt quickly replied.

"Or something."

Blaine took a second to try to figure out what Kurt meant, but he was lost.

"…What?"

Kurt became flustered as he tried to explain.

"Well, uh, you asked if I wanted t- to sit, or something. So I said or something."

When Kurt saw Blaine just getting more confused he buried his face in his hands.

"Oh my god, that was so dorky. I can't believe I said that."

Blaine gently took hold of Kurt's wrists and uncovered his face.

"No, no it was cute! So, what was your 'or something'?"

Kurt gave a little grin and grabbed Blaine's hand, looking like a proud child showing off his latest arts and crafts project as he dragged him over to his workspace. Blaine saw the sewing machine and tilted his head to the side like a small puppy waiting for a treat.

"You sew?"

Kurt's head bobbed up and down.

"Mhmm, I mean it's just a hobby, I'm really more interested in theatre, but I still love to make clothes."

Blaine began to look through the pile of neatly folded fabrics, taking delight in each new pattern he found.

"I actually made the vest I'm wearing."

Blaine's face lit up and he began to run his hands over the fabric of Kurt's vest, taking note of the expert stitching and the impeccable craftsmanship before realizing that he was feeling up Kurt. His eyes went wide and he quickly removed his hands, a bit embarrassed as he changed the topic.

"So, um, why haven't I ever seen your sewing machine before?"

Kurt's nose scrunched up a bit.

"Oh, well I just recently moved it into my room, before it was out in the garage, but the heat was doing way too much damage to my fabric."

Blaine lightly tapped Kurt's nose.

"You are so cute when you scrunch your nose like that."

Kurt quirked his eyebrow.

"That is the third time you have called me cute in the last five minutes."

Blaine leaned back against the sewing table and opened his mouth in mock surprise while Kurt took a seat on his bed.

"You don't like it when I call you _cute_?"

"Don't be silly, I love it when you call me cute."

"Good, I'm glad you love it. Because I plan on calling you cute every single chance I get."

Blaine looked around awkwardly as their little moment died down.

"Um, can I sit on your bed?"

_What? Why he would want to- oh. OH. Oh-oh god. Um, oh god what do I do? Oh god. Is he gonna think I'm a slut if I say yes? Ok, I should say no. Oh my god he'll think I'm prude. Alright. Act calm. Breathe. It's just us. You know, two guys, sitting on a bed. Together. No big deal. Just a boy. On my bed. BLAINE. ON MY BED. Ohmygod I don't think I can handle this. If I don't answer soon he'll think I'm a total dork. _

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

They both settled onto the bed, the two of them sitting right up against the headboard. It was quiet for a few seconds, both of them adjusting to the new closeness, neither of them meeting the other's gaze.

Finally Blaine looked over at Kurt, who looked back at Blaine, and their eyes locked.

Blaine looked away shyly and couldn't help but turn his gaze on Kurt's lips. Kurt immediately took notice and his breathing picked up, his breath coming out in soft puffs as his lips parted. Blaine flicked his eyes back up to meet with Kurt's, their faces hovering mere inches away from each other's. They became suddenly aware of just how close they were; and on Kurt's bed no less. Their hearts began to beat faster and butterflies began to flutter in their stomachs.

They immediately turned into two kids at the very beginnings of young love. Still a bit awkward around each other, sometimes not knowing what to say, still giving each other shy glances and timid kisses, but enjoying every second of it.

Blaine's breaths were coming quicker now as he finally moved his face towards Kurt's, tilting his head slightly, drawing him into a tender kiss. Kurt relaxed as soon as their lips met, his eyes drifting shut as he rested himself on the headboard, a hand floating up and placing itself on Blaine's cheek.

Everything was soft and sweet and slow, no rush, no hurry, just enjoying the feeling of being together.

Blaine began to kiss Kurt deeper, shifting his body until he was practically lying on top of him. The breath left Kurt's body and his heart rate spiked along with the heat of the room.

The hand that was resting gently on Blaine's cheek was now joined by Kurt's other hand as he wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, pulling him closer, hungry for more of him. Blaine parted his mouth slightly, letting his tongue sweep across Kurt's bottom lip and causing him to pull away.

Blaine was breathing heavier and he had to catch his breath before speaking. His brow was scrunched and he looked scared, like he'd done something wrong.

"I- Is everything okay?"

Kurt licked his lips and gave a small nod, his breathing already back to normal.

"Yeah I just… I've never really made out with a guy before."

Blaine smiled, brushing a hand across Kurt's cheek.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Kurt immediately shook his head.

"No. No I want to I just… can I ask you a question?"

Blaine sat up a little.

"Sure. Anything."

Kurt ducked his eyes while he spoke.

"Are…are you a virgin?"

He then looked back up at Blaine as he nervously waited for an answer, only to be met with a loud, involuntary laugh that Blaine had let slip. He caught himself, realizing his reaction probably wasn't an appropriate answer.

"Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you I just…I wasn't expecting that kind of question. Yes, I'm a virgin. I've never even had a boyfriend before. I mean, my brother had some friends who were gay from his private school and I'd hook up with a couple of them sometimes but it was never anything serious... Are you?"

"A virgin? Oh yes. God yes. I've never had a boyfriend before either."

A strange looked formed on Kurt's face.

"What is it?"

"A- are we boyfriends?"

Blaine opened his mouth, but no words came out. He took a second to think before answering.

"I really don't know. I'm not ready to go public with this, not just yet anyways."

Kurt nodded his head in support.

"No, no I get it. It's fine."

"But I really, _really_ like you Kurt. A lot. And you mean a lot to me."

Kurt brought his hand up to move a stray curl off of Blaine's forehead.

"I really like you too."

The shorter boy beamed and leaned in to kiss Kurt again. Kurt relaxed onto his pillows as he wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck.

The heat in the room rose when Blaine slid his tongue across Kurt's lower lip, causing the taller boy to let out an almost silent moan. As his lips parted Blaine moved in closer, licking the soft palate of Kurt's mouth and running his tongue along his teeth. Kurt hummed in delight as their tongues touched. Blaine pulled away after a moment or two, kissing his way down to Kurt's neck so he had a chance to catch his breath.

"God, your skin in so _soft_."

Blaine was speaking right next to Kurt's skin, the vibrations from his voice tickling his neck and making him squirm. Blaine's hand travelled up through Kurt's hair, who for once had no problem with someone touching it. He gripped it a little tighter as he started sucking a small bruise into the skin of Kurt's neck, just below his collar where no one would see it and Kurt couldn't help but let out a small whimper that sounded something like Blaine's name.

Kurt ducked his head down and pulled Blaine back to his lips, stifling his moan. Their faces were as close as they could be, their tongues lightly mingling and enjoying the taste of each other. Kurt wasn't sure how much more his heart could handle.

Suddenly they heard footsteps coming up the stairs and any and all heat was quickly dispelled from the room. Kurt practically jumped up from where he was laying, knocking Blaine back in the process. Kurt quickly grabbed his French book and opened it to a random page, then turned back to see that Blaine was still sprawled across the bed, hair falling in front of his eyes and looking adorably confused.

"Come here! My dad is coming; he wasn't supposed to be home for an hour!"

Blaine nodded quickly as he scrambled into a sitting position just as Burt knocked on the door.

"Hey, bud, you in there?"

"Yeah-"

Kurt caught the high pitch in his voice and coughed to correct it.

"Yeah dad, come in"

The door opened to Kurt and Blaine sitting straight up on the edge of the bed, hands folded in their laps, big smiles on their faces, looking perfectly innocent.

Burt gave a slightly confused smile.

"Oh, um hi Blaine. Is Finn home?"

"Um, no. I'm here to see Kurt."

Kurt cut it, blurting out his attempt to logically explain why he and Blaine were alone in his room together, though it only seemed to make things worse.

"Y-yeah we're frenching- I-I mean studying French! Blaine and I are studying French."

Kurt frantically grabbed his book and held it up as proof.

"See? Verb tenses!"

Burt nodded his head slowly, even more confused than before.

"Okay…Well, I was just comin' up to tell you I'm orderin' pizza. Do you want anything?"

Kurt was quick to respond.

"Dad! You know you can't have greasy junk like that! I can easily make us some healthier _homemade _pizza."

Normally Burt would have immediately begun to complain about 'homemade pizza' but he was too distracted by the odd picture in front of him.

"Alright. That's fine. I'll let you two get back to your, um…studying."

Burt was about to close the door when he turned back.

"Oh and Kurt?"

Kurt looked incredibly flustered.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Your hair, it's kinda stickin' up on the side."

Kurt and Blaine's face both turned a bright shade of red as they both remembered just how Kurt's hair had gotten messed up.

Kurt spoke hastily, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Kay, thanks."

Kurt gave a nervous smile and watched as Burt backed out of the room, closing the door as he went.

They both exhaled as soon as the door closed, not even realizing that they had been holding their breath. Kurt turned his head back to face Blaine.

"That was way too clos- mmpf"

Before Kurt could even finish speaking Blaine started kissing him again, eager to finish what they started.

And the second that their lips touched, Burt opened the door once again.

"Hey, Kurt I almost forgo-"

Blaine pulled away immediately, their eyes met with Burt's and well…

Have you ever had a moment where you see something and you really, _really _want to look away because you know the longer you stare the more awkward it will be, but your eyes are already locked on whatever it is you saw, and you just _can't _look away, so you end up staring for god knows _how_ long until everyone involved is sufficiently embarrassed and there is no going back as the situation's awkwardness has just spiraled out of control?

That is exactly what happened.

Burt was the first to break the horribly awkward silence with a small, uncomfortable cough.

"Is he…are you two…um…?"

Kurt was still in shock when Blaine began to babble like an idiot.

"Ohmygod, sir. I'm so sorry, I mean I didn't….And, I just, and…we…"

As Blaine ran out of steam just as Burt put his hands up in an attempt to calm him down.

"It's fine, you know, whatever. Just, uh, tell me next time, okay?"

Kurt was mute, just giving a simple nod as Blaine hung his head.

Burt began to leave, but turned back to look at the pair.

"Oh and Blaine?"

The boy looked up, his eyes wide.

"Yes, sir?"

Burt pointed as he spoke.

"When you're here, this door, stays _open."_

Blaine nodded his head spastically

"Y-yes sir. I-I'm sorry, sir."

Burt gave a single nod and made his way back down the hall, leaving the two boys sitting there looking utterly mortified.

* * *

Kurt dreamily stood by his locker the next day, packing stuff into his bag after a long glee rehearsal. He was almost glowing, a bright smile beaming off his face. He was surrounded by his own little bubble of light and happiness, completely unaware of the pair eyes watching him from afar.

The same pair of eyes that had accidentally witnessed Kurt with Blaine in the locker room a few days prior.

The eyes shut tight, trying to push away the sickening images they had stumbled upon. Images almost as sickening as that smile on Kurt's face. A smile the owner of those eyes longed so deeply to smash.

A smile that, no matter how hard he tried to deny it, made him weak at the knees.

_Dammit, this is stupid! I don't… no!_

He stormed over towards the boy, preparing to send his cheerful little world crashing to the ground so he'd never have to see that damn smile again.

He sauntered by, his words grabbing Kurt's complete attention.

"You make a habit of forcing guys to kiss you in locker rooms, Hummel?"

There was silence in return but he kept walking, anticipating the stuttering reply that was sure to come.

"W-what did you say?"

Karofsky stopped walking and smirked when he heard those words, taking delight in the clear sense of horror that Kurt displayed. He turned around to see Kurt almost frozen in place, an unmoving hand gripping the small metal door as he stared straight into his locker, waiting for Karofsky to speak.

"You heard me. I saw your little fag fest with Blaine the other day."

Karofsky's words snapped Kurt out of his daze and he forced himself to stay calm, going back to placing his books in his bag, his words barely revealing the ball of nerves within.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Blaine and I are just friends-"

Karofsky let out a small, mocking chuckle.

"More like 'friends with benefits'."

Kurt slammed his locker shut with more force than he thought he contained and slung his bag over his shoulder, turning to place a frigid, unwavering glare on Karofsky.

"Look, I don't know what you _think_ you saw, but nothing is happening between Blaine and me."

Kurt spoke with an air of certainty and briskly walked by Karofsky, head held high, thinking that he had just put an end to their conversation.

Karofsky let an evil grin creep onto his face as he watched Kurt walk past him, knowing he had the upper hand now. Kurt had just gone by him when he played his trump card.

"Well that's not how the whole school's gonna see it."

Kurt whipped around, his heart rate picking up as he looked at the other boy in complete disbelief.

"You wouldn't dare."

Karofsky turned towards Kurt with a wide smirk on his face, enjoying the feeling of complete control.

"The hell I wouldn't."

Kurt was completely appalled that even someone as deplorable as Karofsky would stoop to such a low and quickly shot back.

"Why?! What could you possibly gain from doing that to him?!"

_You. God-! No!_

Karofsky gave Kurt a sneer as he spat out his explanation, not daring to let his true reason be known.

"He stole my rep. With him gone _I'll_ be on top again."

Kurt scoffed at him.

"You really think he'd _leave_?"

Karofsky took a few steps forwards as he spoke, attempting to intimidate Kurt, but he stood his ground with a firm glare.

"He'll have to. This school would tear him apart; I'd make sure of it."

Kurt gave a small shake of the head, almost disgusted with Karofsky's superficial thirst for vengeance.

"You 'rep' is seriously that important to you?!"

Karofsky spoke with pure fury, his words disguising the real motive of his anger.

"He catches me off guard and throws a few punches at me and all of a sudden he's tough shit? A fag like him doesn't even belong on the football team! And when I'm through with him, he won't be."

"Are you kidding me?! Look, you can live whatever lie you want to but don't act like I don't know what's really going on with you!"

_You have no idea._

Karofsky brushed away the comment and walked past Kurt. He was not about to let his stupid personal thoughts take away his victory.

"Whatever. Have fun with your boyfriend, Hummel. He won't be around much longer."

Karofsky continued down the hall, pushing his nerves away and forcing a smile onto his face. He knew that, for now, he had won.

But Kurt's overwhelming wrath brought him to a whole new point of desperation. Enough to stoop down to Karofsky's level.

The larger boy was about to turn the corner when Kurt shouted down the hall, stopping him in his tracks.

"I don't believe in outing Karofsky, but if you do that to him I _swear _I will tell every last person at this school about you!"

Kurt's words echoed through the hallway, ringing in Karofsky's ears and all he could do was just stand there, feeling everything crash around him, all his confidence and victory. Panic pulsed through him, panic that was quickly eclipsed by blind rage as he charged towards Kurt, who had to lean up against the lockers to avoid the boy who was now towering over him.

"If you do that I swear I'll-"

Kurt rolled his eyes then stood up straight, forcing Karofsky to take a few steps backwards.

"You'll _what?!_ You can't touch me, remember?! You'll get kicked off the team and your precious 'rep' will be nothing!"

Karofsky slammed his fist into the metal next to Kurt, who didn't even flinch as he stared Karofsky straight in the eye.

"I'm not scared of you anymore, David."

Karofsky refused to let himself enjoy the sound of his name on Kurt's lips.

_Those lips…No! This is bullshit! I'm not- No!_

Kurt began to gain momentum as he spoke, walking forwards and forcing Karofsky back until they were almost to the other side of the hall.

"God knows I have _tried_ to be understanding towards you because you _clearly_ can't handle what you're going through. I've taken all the shit you've thrown at me, but I will _not_ let you do that to Blaine. You don't believe it? Try me."

_Dammit._

Karofsky clenched and unclenched his jaw as his hands balled up into fists, wanting nothing more than to slam them into Kurt's face. But Karofsky saw the look in his eyes, the self-assurance, the determination, the ferocity, and he knew that Kurt was serious. It was a cheap move, but it was enough to force Karofsky into a corner. He _had_ to back down.

"Fine. But don't think I'm just gonna forget about this."

And he wasn't. Blaine had taken everything from him; his pride, his rep,

_Kurt_.

This was far from over. Blaine was going to pay and Karofsky wouldn't stop until that damn smile on Kurt's face was gone for good. That smile he secretly yearned so bad to be the cause of. That smile that made him sick, that made him hate himself. That smile that Blaine wrongfully got to enjoy without the whole student body knowing. But not for long,

Because Karofsky was about to make Blaine's life a living hell.


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: This chapter contains unhealthy amounts of fluff. The writers of this fic are in no way liable for any #deaths caused by fangirling nor are they equally liable for any of the following side effects: Blood turning into sugar, heart turning into rock candy, peeing out rainbows, pooping out unicorns, puking cotton candy, or melting into a puddle/ any relatable side effects.**

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED :D**

* * *

Chapter 14

Kurt slowly made his way over to his lunch table; tray in one hand, cell phone in the other.

His fingers worked quickly as he typed a message back to Blaine, bumping into more than a few people in the process. His phone buzzed again and he read the text, blushing a little bit but still smiling. Kurt set his tray down on the table when he finally got there, eyes still focused on the small screen as he stood, tapping out a reply.

He took a seat at the table and his phone buzzed again. He glanced down at the screen, a small laugh escaping from him when he read what Blaine had texted. He was fully engulfed in his text messages, not even noticing the strange looks his two best friends had been giving him since he entered the lunch room.

Kurt texted back, completely oblivious to Mercedes's quirked eyebrow and Rachel's cocky and knowing grin. He began to speak, eyes still glued to his phone.

"Oh, so I ordered these amazing shirts off of Rue La-La the other day and they finally came in last night and-…what?"

Kurt finally looked up to see Rachel and Mercedes staring straight at him, almost as if they were impatiently waiting for him to take notice of something. When they didn't reply he tried to figure out what they were looking so intently at.

"I-is there something on my face?"

He started wiping at his mouth, fearing that some of his breakfast may have stuck. Rachel's voice piped up.

"Oh. There's _something_, alright."

Kurt rubbed his face a little harder, but when he looked down at his hand there was nothing there.

"Did I get it?"

Mercedes jumped into the conversation, her voice dripping with cynicism and sexual implication.

"I don't know. _Did you_?"

Kurt scrunched his eyebrows and grabbed his phone when it buzzed, speaking as he replied to the text.

"What? Why are you guys being so weird?"

Rachel glanced over at Mercedes who gave her a little smile and a nod. Rachel's expression then suddenly changed to one of almost _too_ much interest. She smoothly slid over to Kurt, her curious smile hiding her devious mind as she started examining his shirt. She spoke coolly, quickly looking over at Mercedes who was eagerly awaiting to see what would happen next.

"Hey is this one of the shirts you were talking about?"

Kurt was busy texting Blaine back, unaware of what was going on and only glancing up as Rachel touched his arm.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah."

"Oh it's very nice."

"Thank you."

Rachel moved her hand up to Kurt's collar, pinching the material between her fingers.

"Is that twill?"

"Oh, no. It's broadcloth."

"Oh wow."

"Mmhmm"

"Yeah I really like the- THERE IT IS I TOLD YOU!"

"Kurt!"

"Ohmygod."

Mercedes gasped and her jaw dropped as Rachel tore back his shirt, revealing a small reddish bruise right above his collar bone. Rachel had only glanced at it earlier but now that she saw it and had solid proof she couldn't believe her eyes.

Kurt quickly pulled his shirt back up, trying not to panic as he looked around the room hoping no one had noticed the girls' screams. He then turned back to Rachel and Mercedes as he adjusted his shirt back into its previous position.

"Have you two completely lost your minds?!"

Rachel looked shocked as she put her little hands on her hips, her voice as squeaky as ever.

"I cannot believe you Kurt! You got a boyfriend and you _didn't _tell us!"

Kurt did his best to hide his face as he looked down at his salad, knowing full well that his poker face was horrible.

"What are you talking about? I don't have a boyfriend."

_Well, I'm not lying._

Mercedes looked at him, clearly not buying his defense.

"Then what's with the hickey?"

He nervously poked around through his salad, trying to think up a legitimate reason for the dark spot on his neck.

"It's not a hickey. I-I burnt myself with my flat iron."

Rachel didn't seem to be buying it either as her signature smirk spread across her face.

"On your collar bone?"

Mercedes crossed her arms across her chest, confident that she was about to get Kurt to talk.

"Kurt. You got about five seconds to tell us who you're hookin' up with before I get over there and start messin' up your hair."

Kurt glared up at Mercedes through narrowed eyes.

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Five…"

Mercedes uncrossed her arms.

"You can't be serious."

"Four…"

She held out a hand.

"Mercedes this is ridiculous-"

"Three…"

And began to reach for Kurt's hair.

"Mercedes if you touch my hair I swear-"

"Two…"

She had almost reached his head-

"For crying out loud, I'm not hooking up with a guy! Now will you both just drop it?!"

Mercedes held up both hands, backing off as she slid away from Kurt.

Rachel's eyes went wide at Kurt's sudden outburst and she suddenly became very sober. You could see the little wheels turning in her head. She turned to Kurt, dead serious as she placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"Kurt, is it a girl?"

Mercedes put a hand against her own forehead, letting out a frustrated groan. Kurt just stared at Rachel and lifted an eyebrow as he deadpanned.

"Seriously?"

Rachel drew back her hand as quickly as if she had been touching hot metal and crossed her arms as frown appeared on her face.

"Well if you'd just tell us who your _mystery man_ is then we wouldn't have to go through all this."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Rachel's little phrase and began to stand.

"There _is_ no 'mystery man.' Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go before whatever psycho disease you two have caught starts to spread."

Kurt dumped his tray into the nearby trash can and headed for the door, Rachel shouting at him as he left the room.

"You can try to avoid us all you want, Kurt! We _will_ find out!"

* * *

The locker room was a loud mess of boys in various states of dress as they prepared for yet another grueling practice. Blaine had just gotten there when Coach Beiste walked in and gathered everyone around for a little pep talk.

"Alright boys! I know we got winter break comin' up, but that's no excuse not to keep workin' your asses off. We got one of the biggest games of the season in a few weeks. We win that game, and we're one more win away from being district champs."

Guys began to cheer and holler, making as much noise possible. A few people bumped chests and fists while others high-fived and starting banging on any surface that was close to them.

"Alright! Alright! Settle down! We haven't won, _yet_. From now to this game I'm gonna work you guys harder than you've ever been worked in your life. I'm gonna have you eatin', drinkin', and breathin' football. And I won't stop pushin' ya until every last one of you guys is as tough as a frostbitten Irish fig in an old swine's jaw."

The team no longer looked excited, but confused, as sat there in utter silence, exchanging a few glances trying to figure out if _anyone_ understood what Coach Beiste meant.

"I want you all on that field, full pads in five! If you're a _second_ late, you'll be doin' extra laps around the track!"

Beiste left the room and the guys went back to getting ready, Blaine hurrying over to his locker near the rest of his friends and quickly striking up a conversation as he began to change.

"Hey, is it just me, or does everyone seem to be looking at me weird?"

Puck and Finn exchanged a quick grin as Blaine continued on.

"Like, all week people have been staring at me."

Blaine took off his shirt and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a few pieces of folded up paper and holding them out for someone else to take.

"During lunch a couple of girls gave me these but I've kinda been afraid to open them."

Finn quickly finished tying his shoelaces and reached forwards to grab the papers, laughing a bit as he read what was inside.

"Dude chill, they're just phone numbers."

Blaine had just finished changing his shirt when he snatched the papers out of Finn's hands, skeptical about their contents.

"Phone numbers? But why would they just _give_ me their phone numbers?"

Puck stuck out a hand as he spoke and Blaine placed the papers in his palm

"Dude, everyone knows about you kicking Karofsky's ass last week."

Puck began to look through the numbers and upon recognizing one of them he tossed it into Blaine's locker, answering his questioning gaze with a quiet; 'You'll want to keep that one, she's a _slut._'

Artie reached into his locker to grab his helmet as he continued with the conversation.

"Yeah, you're like, a total badass now."

Puck turned to face Blaine with a cocky grin on his face.

"Except I'm still a bigger badass."

Blaine looked down at the numbers that Puck had placed back into his hands and then up at all of his friends.

"Wait. Seriously?"

Mike gave a small nod once he had pulled his jersey over his head.

"Yeah man. That fight made you a total hero. You're like Batman. But, you know, without the awesome weapons or the cool car-"

Artie quickly cut in.

"Or the swag."

_I…I don't have swag…?_

But Blaine just nodded his head, looking a bit more excited now that he was beginning to understand why he was given phone numbers.

"Oh! Gotcha. Awesome!"

Finn pointed over to the papers in his hands.

"Looks like the ladies are finding it awesome too."

Blaine reached over to grab his cleats from his locker.

"Wait, but they like, _like_ me now? That's so weird."

Sam jumped into the conversation, unsure if it was him or Blaine that wasn't getting something.

"Why is that weird?"

_Oh. Shit. Girls would like me…. 'cause I'm straight… right…_

"I dunno. Guess I'm just not use to it."

"Shouldn't you guys be out singing show tunes or something?"

Blaine's back went stiff the second he heard Karofsky's voice and the mood in the locker room immediately changed. Finn's head shot up, a sneer on his face as he slowly walked over to the jock, ready to start a fight.

"You know what, Karofsky? I am sick and tired of all of your _bullshit_ comments. You know Kurt couldn't even _stand_ properly when he got home Friday?"

Karofsky smirked a bit.

"Well, it's not my fault your brother's a freaking girl and couldn't take a few hits."

Images of Kurt's broken body flooded into Blaine mind along with those words. An indescribable sense of rage rushed through him and he looked like he was about to spring forward and tear Karofsky limb from limb. But Finn stood between them, and seemed oddly relaxed. The tension in the room was visible as he looked back to his friends, laughing a bit.

"Girl. Ha. Yeah, that, that's real funny-"

Finn's last word was punctuated by a loud smack as he suddenly turned back and swung his fist straight into Karofsky's jaw.

Karofsky stumbled back a bit and placed a hand on his chin, moving around his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken. He regained his footing and lunged at Finn.

"You son of a bitch!"

But before anything could happen, Blaine was already in between them, holding the boys away from each other and nearly yelling at Karofsky.

"You really want us to kick your ass _again_?"

The locker room was dead silent as everyone waited for Karofsky's reaction. He looked around, realizing that there was no way for him to retaliate without starting a fight and possibly getting kicked off the team. Instead Karofsky just brought up his hands to shove Blaine away.

"Get the hell off of me, fag."

Everyone watched as Karofsky left the locker room, the door slamming behind him as he headed out towards the field. The team was silent for a second but then Finn turned to Blaine, a huge smile on his face as he clapped the smaller boy on the shoulder, acting as if nothing had just happened.

"So, hey! About those numbers!"

* * *

It was around nine o'clock at night and Kurt and Blaine were tucked away in a corner of the library's empty second floor.

They had been sitting right next to each other on the floor all evening, each of them in their own little world, but still aware of the other's presence. Absentmindedly brushing the other's hand, occasionally leaning over for a peck on the cheek, sometimes reaching out and intertwining their fingers.

It had been like this for hours, the pair sitting and studying, but still joined at the hip. Well, at least they _were _studying, until Blaine decided to show Kurt the little slips of paper he had received that confirmed his newfound popularity.

As soon as the cheerleader saw the numbers and names scribble on the pieces of paper he let out a thunderous laugh, earning him a cold glare from the librarian. He mouthed out an apology before turning back to the numbers Blaine had showed him.

The shorter boy immediately tried to grab the papers, but Kurt kept them well out of reach, resulting in Blaine just sitting there, his arms grasping at thin air as he tried to get them back.

"Come on, it's not _that_ funny."

Kurt smirked and then turned so his back was facing the other boy, the numbers safely out of reach.

"Oh, I don't know, it's _pretty_ funny."

Blaine twisted his body around so he could lean his chest up against Kurt's back, his arms wrapping around the taller boy's stomach and his chin resting his shoulder. Kurt leaned back into him and began flipping through the numbers, trying to see if he recognized any of them.

Blaine watched as he stopped at one piece of paper and held it up for him to look at. Kurt turned his head just enough so Blaine could see his amused expression.

"I hear that _she_ is a slut."

Blaine pretended to be annoyed but he couldn't hide his smile.

"Alright, fine it's a little funny."

Blaine gave him a kiss on the cheek and he handed the numbers back to Blaine, who unwrapped himself from Kurt and put them back into his bag. Kurt then repositioned himself so they were once again sitting side to side as he spoke.

"Please. It's _hilarious_!"

The shorter boy scrunched his brow and turned to Kurt with an amused smile.

"Why do you find it so hilarious that girls like me?"

He gave a slightly sympathetic smile and reached out to push some of Blaine's curls behind his ear, letting his hand rest on the side of his face.

"You mean besides the fact that you're totally gay and it flies right over everyone's head?"

Blaine rolled his eyes before grabbing the other boy's hand and placing a kiss to his knuckles, smiling up at him as he spoke.

"Yes, besides that."

Kurt dropped his head, hiding his smile.

"Well It's just…"

Blaine's head tilted to the side in question.

"What? What is it?"

This mischievous smile was on Kurt's face when he looked back up at him.

"Nothing, it's just…I'm dating the hottest stud in school."

He leaned forwards and placed a quick peck onto Blaine's lips.

"Who would've guessed?"

Blaine sat perfectly still, completely stunned by the fact that he was now considered a 'stud'. He regained his composure and grabbed his science notes, trying to avoid eye contact with Kurt.

"Alright, I'm adding 'stud' to the list of words you are not allowed to call me."

Kurt moved to face Blaine and curled his legs beneath him so he could lean forwards and pinch his cheek.

"Aww but you're such a stud."

"Kurt, stop it."

Blaine playfully batted at his hands, but it was no use. Kurt put a hand on either side of his face and held him there.

"You don't like it when I call you a stud you big studly stud you-"

"Shhhhhhh!"

The pair looked back towards the librarian who once again looked like she was attempting to set them both on fire with her eyes. They were completely still for a second and then quickly split apart, Kurt laughing a bit as he apologized to the librarian for probably the fiftieth time that night.

"Sorry…"

He turned back to Blaine to find an almost worried look on his face.

"Kurt, we're in a public library. Can you try to…"

"Oh, please! We are _literally_ the only ones here! Well, except for that obnoxious librarian…"

Kurt's laughter stopped and he immediately sobered up when he saw the look on Blaine's face.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just really hard not to act like that when we're together."

He reached forwards and clasped his hand with Blaine's

"Especially now since it seems like I'm gonna have to fight for you."

Kurt brought their now intertwined fingers up and kissed the back of Blaine's hand while he just rolled his eyes.

"Well at least you're taking this lightly."

Kurt spoke matter-of-factly, twirling one of Blaine's curls between his fingers.

"Of course. They're girls, Blaine. It's not like any of them really stands a chance. Oh, and by the way 'Mr. Nobody Can Know About Us', you need to be more careful with the hickeys because Rachel and Mercedes are catching on."

Blaine's eyes went wide.

"That's what all the screaming was about at lunch?"

Kurt laughed a bit as he nodded his head and Blaine suddenly looked very playful.

"I can't help it. I like the noises you make."

Kurt's cheeks immediately flushed with color and he almost downright yelped when Blaine swiftly bent forwards to kiss him on the exact spot where the hickey was, his free hand grasping Kurt's hip as he did so.

"Blaine!"

The librarian's face was beet red as she held up a finger to her lips in the universal sign to be quiet, her lips pursing as she let out a loud,

"SHHHHHH!"

Blaine was still leaning over him as he apologized again.

"Sorry!"

Kurt turned back to him, their faces only inches a part.

"You wanna go? I know a place outside that might be better and it's a bit more…private."

Blaine put on his classic impish smile and nodded his head quickly.

"Sounds good."

They had packed everything into their bags and the next thing Blaine knew Kurt was dragging him down a long hallway he didn't even know existed. They turned left down another hallway and then right down another and suddenly they were standing in front of a huge wooden door.

He reached forwards and placed a hand on the door handle, turning to Blaine before he opened it.

"You ready?"

Blaine nodded, though he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to be ready for. Kurt opened the door and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Behind the door was an enchanting scene, a small courtyard blanketed in a thin layer of frost and snow, the full moon above bathing the space in light and making it seem as though everything was glowing.

There were wild flowers sprouting up everywhere, splashes of color muffled by snow. Straight down the middle of courtyard, cutting through the flowers, was an old brick path. This path led to an small wooden bench with a tall oak tree sitting right next to it, it's leaves having already fallen. It was almost silent save for the sound of the wind lightly blowing and the light rustle of leaves on the ground.

Blaine took a deep breath, his lungs adjusting to the cold nip in the air. He stood there for a moment, simply taking everything in and letting the winter air settle around him.

He turned to Kurt, whispering when he spoke, afraid that anything above almost silence would break the peace of the courtyard.

"What is this place?"

Kurt clasped his hand tighter and they slowly began to walk forwards, their shoes leaving prints in the previously untouched snow. He spoke softly, anything louder and his voice would have been echoing against the walls.

"One summer, when I was younger, my mother and I used to come to the library every Sunday. It was time for her and me, just the two of us, and I loved every second of it. She would wait here for me while I ran through the kid's section, gathering as many books as my little arms could carry. And then I would bring the books back here, where she would read me every last one."

Kurt laughed to himself as they sat down on the old bench.

"She would maybe sit on this bench, me at her feet, or we would both lay in the flowers and I would follow along as she read me the words. We spent entire days here, bringing along little sack lunches so we didn't have to leave to get food."

Kurt's voice drifted off as his mind wandered away, captured by some memory of so many years ago.

"Of course it was summer then, and this place looked very different, but still just as amazing. They built this little square as a place for people to come and relax, but over time it's been forgotten and now it's almost always…empty."

Kurt was staring off into the distance, lost in his own thoughts, the moonlight outlining his features and making him look almost angelic.

They sat for a minute or two like that, right next to each other on the bench, hands clasped tightly, quiet and content in each other's warmth. But Blaine couldn't help but stare at the cheerleader and as each second ticked by, his heart began to beat louder. Kurt just looked so serene, so calm,

"So beautiful."

Kurt looked up at the night sky, clear of clouds and twinkling with stars.

"I know, I love it here."

Kurt turned to face the other boy, his breath hitching in his throat when Blaine suddenly leaned forwards, catching his lips in a deep kiss. Blaine brought his free hand to settle on his hip as the kiss went on, slow and lazy but fueled by passion. He finally broke free and let his forehead rest against Kurt's, his thumb rubbing circles into his hip as their breathing returned to normal. Kurt's eyes were closed as he relaxed under Blaine's touch, his breath coming in warm puffs which were visible in the night air.

"Kurt?"

"Mmm?"

"You're so beautiful."

Kurt's eyes blinked open and he shivered, the cold finally seeping through his jacket.

"W- What?"

Blaine smiled and kissed him again.

"You are _beautiful_."

Kurt ducked his head and then looked up at Blaine with teary eyes, his voice barely audible.

"No one has ever called me beautiful before."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a warm embrace, his arms wrapping around the other boy's back and holding him close, chasing away the cheerleader's shivers with the warmth of his body. The couple sat like that until a light snow began to fall, forcing them out of their fairytale courtyard and back into reality.

* * *

Kurt stood in the kitchen finishing the last of the dishes from dinner. It had been his turn to clean up and, honestly, he was glad for the bit of alone time it gave him. Burt and Carol had already gone to bed and the muffled sounds of the football game that Finn was watching in the living room echoed through the first floor of the house.

_I should go talk to him._

Ever since Kurt's blow up on Friday the pair had been tiptoeing around each other, careful not to overstep some invisible boundary line that had gone up the second Kurt had begun to yell.

But Kurt missed his brother.

He missed his dopey, loveable grins, and his clueless, oblivious comments. Kurt just wanted his brother back and he knew that he would have to suck up his pride to do it. He grabbed a tray filled with two hot fudge sundaes and headed out into the living room.

Finn was nearly on the edge of his seat, completely enthralled by the football game playing on the TV, and not even realizing when Kurt entered the room.

"Come on come on come one….YES!"

Kurt had to hold back his laughter when he saw Finn actually jump out of his seat; he always got _way_ too into the games he watched.

"Hey."

Finn turned around, immediately calming down when he saw Kurt.

"Oh. Uh, hey."

Kurt held the tray out a little bit, almost like a peace offering in the middle of war.

"I, uh, I brought dessert. Hot fudge sundaes."

Kurt gave him a hopeful smile, but Finn had already focused in on the sweets, Kurt had lost him the second he said 'dessert'.

"That sounds awesome! Thanks!"

Kurt nervously walked over to the couch to set down the tray. But by the time he had even taken a seat and started eating his own, Finn had gotten halfway through with his.

Finn turned to him with a mouth full of ice cream and hot fudge, not even bothering to clear his mouth before he spoke with a smile.

"Dude, thish ish amazing!"

Kurt smiled in response as he swallowed his bite of ice cream. Finn turned back to the screen suddenly very excited that someone was about to catch the ball. Kurt soon realized that he had lost Finn's attention, but he wasn't about to let it stop there.

"So… who's playing?"

Finn was barely paying attention and he gave Kurt a quick, incomplete answer.

"It's…uh, it's on the screen."

Kurt nodded his head, squinting as he read the tiny letters next to the teams' scores, and trying to act like he knew what was going on.

"Oh. I see. Yeah, of course. The Byu's verses The Utemp's. Gotcha."

Finn slowly turned his head until he was looking at Kurt, completely dumbfounded by Kurt's 'teams'.

"It's the Cougars vs. the Miners."

Kurt let a sheepish grin onto his face, sinking back into his seat a bit.

"I never would've guessed."

Kurt felt defeated but he knew he had to fix this, so he waited patiently until the commercials came on and he could actually have a real conversation with Finn.

An ad for laundry detergent began to play and Kurt immediately started to speak.

"Hey, um, I know we haven't really talked lately but Blaine told me about what happened with you and Karofsky in the locker room and I just wanted to say that I appreciate it."

Finn cut in, trying to keep his brother from babbling.

"Kurt-"

But it was no use.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I mean you were just trying to help and-"

Finn reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kurt. It's cool. I…I'm just glad you're okay."

Kurt felt his heartbeat return to normal as he shared a smile with Finn. As the game came back on Kurt picked up the two empty sundae glasses and started to stand up.

"I think I'm gonna go do some work in my room before bed. Good night."

Finn flashed another smile at Kurt.

"Night Kurt. Thanks for the sundae."

"No problem. I'm glad you liked it."

Kurt grinned back and then turned to go into the kitchen and he was almost there when Finn called back out to him.

"And Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Kurt did his best to dim the brilliance of the smile that was practically bursting out of him. He knew it was pretty silly to want to cry, but he could feel his eyes starting to fog as he repressed the urge to run over and hug Finn with all his strength. Yeah, it was silly, and all Kurt could think about was how a year ago he would have given anything to hear those words from Finn. But hearing them now, in this context, was better than anything he could have ever imaged.

"I love you too."

And with that, suppressing every sappy emotion running through him, he left Finn to watch his game in peace, never feeling so grateful to have this kind of relationship with him. One in which they would bump heads sometimes and get under each other's skin and nag and pester and yell at each other, but still, at the end of it all, they loved each other unconditionally. Because even though they may not be siblings, they were _brothers_. And that was that.

* * *

**Just letting you guys know that we both just started school so we may not be able to post as often. We'll try our best to keep up with our schedule though.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey Guys! So first of all, we're so sorry about not posting last week! We've just both been adjusting to our college schedule and homework and it was one of our birthdays this past weekend so we didn't get a chance to do much writing. We're trying our best to get into the swing of things, but don't be surprised if some weeks we don't post. I hope this chapter makes up for any disappointments. We love you guys! Also, we are (officially) half-way through the story! :D Alright. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

Kurt walked into the cafeteria, quickly grabbed some lunch, and began to walk towards his usual table. He had a bit of a smile on his face, a smile that quickly faded when he saw Rachel and Mercedes turn to look at him.

The pair had huge grins, obviously about to start questioning Kurt about his 'new man' and the closer Kurt got to the table, the more his smile disappeared, and the more he realized that he could not handle their crazy today.

He was almost to the table when Rachel opened her mouth, ready to ask yet another insane question.

"So, Kurt…"

The second he heard her voice he immediately made a sharp right, shaking his head 'Nope' and going straight for the Cheerios table.

_There is something seriously wrong with those girls._

Kurt slipped into an open space right next to Brittany, giving a small, quick smile to Blaine, who was seated across the table from him along with a few other Jocks. Nobody else had noticed his arrival yet and Kurt took this chance to lean forward slightly and whisper so only Blaine could hear.

"_This morning they kept asking how far I've gone!"_

Blaine, unable to control himself, let out a booming laugh, only realizing how loud it was when literally every single person sitting at the table stopped what they were doing to turn and look at him. Blaine awkwardly stared back, frozen in place. Finally he let out a nervous cough and quickly changed the subject.

"So…um…how about that pop quiz in Ms. Johnson's class…crazy, right?"

He gave a meager chuckle, calming down a bit when he noticed people going back to their own business.

Kurt let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

"Oh my god! That was terrible!"

Sam had a huge bite of sandwich in his mouth and was chewing when he tried to speak, still somehow managing a bummed frown even though there was roast beef hanging out of his mouth.

"Aww man. You guys had a pop quiz?"

Blaine crossed his arms, a pout appearing on his face.

"Yeah I know. The day before winter break."

His eyebrows scrunched up as he remembered something and he turned to Kurt for confirmation.

"Did you notice how she looked straight at me when she announced it?"

Kurt quickly finished his bite of salad and then held up his fork, pointing it at Blaine as he spoke.

"I swear, that lady has some serious vendetta with you."

Blaine just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"She's just mad because I could teach that class better than she can."

Quinn leaned over to speak, absentmindedly placing a hand on Sam's arm as she did so.

"I'm surprised you haven't tried. You're already practically teaching our English class."

Brittany chimed in, one hand twirling around her ponytail and the other patting Artie on the knee.

"Yeah, you're like those annoying people who know everything except, like, super cool. Kinda like Artie."

He stared at the hand on his knee before looking up at Brittany, not really sure what to make of her comment.

"Thanks…?"

Blaine turned the conversation back onto Kurt, a sly Cheshire cat's smile on his face.

"Well, Kurt's _way_ better at English than I am."

Kurt shrugged and he reached for his water, taking a small sip. Blaine waited for the perfect moment. Right as Kurt had a mouthful of liquid, he spoke.

"And French."

Kurt's eyes bulged out of his head and he nearly choked on his water. Meanwhile, Finn, completely oblivious to what he was saying, turned to face Blaine.

"Oh yeah. How's the tutoring going?"

By this point, Kurt was really starting to choke on his water, but Blaine didn't stop there.

"It's going great. I'm learning a lot. Kurt's a _great_ teacher."

Kurt had so much water down his throat that he began to bang his hands on the table, trying to get some air into his windpipe. Santana, who had been unusually quiet throughout the whole ordeal, now chose this moment to speak, glancing over at Blaine suspiciously.

"I didn't know you were taking French, Blaine."

But her comment was lost in all the commotion as Quinn began patting Kurt on the back and Brittany turned to him, piece of bread in hand.

"Oh my god! Kurt! Quick! Shove this down your throat. It will soak up the water."

Kurt's coughing slowed, allowing him the chance to give her a confused glance. Quinn began to shake her head slowly, puzzled by Brittan's unhelpful advice.

"No…"

Kurt cleared his throat a few times, now able to breathe normally, but his voice still sounded a bit weird from choking.

"I'm good. It's fine."

Brittany shrugged and popped the piece of bread into her mouth. Kurt took a small drink of water to help his breathing and glared at Blaine, who had to hold in laughter as he gave Kurt a cheeky grin. The whole table was slowly going back to normal; people returned to their own conversations and went back to eating their lunch.

Finn looked like he suddenly remembered something and caught Blaine's attention.

"Oh so Blaine, every year they have this festival-like thing called 'Lights of Lima' and I know you're not in Glee Club but all of us are gonna be hanging out over there tonight. Wanna come?"

Blaine slightly shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what he would be getting himself into and fearing that he might feel out of place.

"Um…I dunno…"

Kurt jumped in, hoping he could be more convincing.

"You should go! It's loads of fun. They decorate the park downtown with a bunch of Christmas lights and they put up little lit up displays everywhere! They also play music and you can get food and-"

Blaine gave Kurt a little wink before nodding to Finn.

"Food? I'm sold."

Finn smiled broadly, glad that Blaine was slowly becoming part of their group.

"Great! We'll meet up around nine."

"Sounds perfect."

Blaine smiled brightly, throwing a quick glance towards Kurt before they both became engulfed with their own conversations.

With every passing second he became more and more anxious. He was nervous, for sure. After all, he wasn't really part of the Glee Club. But they thought of being able to be with Kurt, out in public, no worries; it made everything else seem a lot less terrifying.

* * *

There was a nip in the air as Blaine stepped out of his car into the parking lot. He gripped tighter onto his letterman jacket, suddenly glad for the scarf he had decided to bring as he quickly wrapped it around his neck.

He made his way over to a small booth at the entrance, quickly paying the few dollars it cost, and stepped into the park.

Blaine noticed some of the football team grouped together awaiting his and a few others' arrivals, but they all had their backs turned to him. Everyone was talking and laughing, just joking around and Blaine wasn't really sure what to do; approach them? Wait for them to take notice? He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around nervously, not having any idea what to do. But before long Sam saw him and Finn turned around with a huge smile on his face, waving a hand in the air in greeting.

"Hey Blaine! We're over here!"

Blaine's face lit up, thankful to be recognized, and he made his way over to his friends. They exchanged a few fist bumps and a couple bro hugs, making small talk and patiently waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

They didn't even have the chance to really start chatting before Karofsky and his cronies decided to butt their badly groomed heads into the conversation.

"Dammit. Can't I go anywhere without having to see these dumb ass losers?"

Blaine practically cringed at the sound of his voice.

Sam turned to the jock, looking tired of having to deal with his half-witted insults.

"Dude, it's _Christmas_. Don't you ever take a break?"

Azimio came up behind Karofsky, clapping him on the shoulder.

"You know, _Justine_ Bieber has a point. It's Christmas and we almost forgot to give these gleeks their presents!"

Finn and Blaine exchanged a few worried looks, watching as some of the jocks bent down gathering some unknown objects up into their hands.

"_What are they-"_

"_I have no idea."_

But they soon found out what when the other guys immediately stood and began pelting hard, icy snowballs at them.

They were thrown with amazing accuracy, delivering painful blows every time they made contact with someone, and everyone was too busy trying to block themselves from being hit to actually try and retaliate.

"What the-"

Kurt could barely make out what was going on in front of him. He, Santana, Brittany, Quinn and Tina had just shown up and finished paying when they noticed the commotion.

"Is that-"

Tina looked worried as she watched someone, who she thought was Mike, take a snowball to the face. The group took a few steps forward and they knew for sure.

"It is."

They began to run towards the guys, Kurt leading the way and giving Karofsky a glare that could melt the ice he was throwing. Karofsky smirked back, but still signaled the rest of the team to leave.

"Merry Christmas, freaks!"

He threw one last snowball in Blaine's face before taking off.

Santana headed towards Puck, reaching a hand up and batting snow off of what little hair he had. She was leaning towards him and he couldn't help but try to grab her ass, only for her to slap his hand away.

"Mira, Puckerman. Sé que soy caliente como el _infierno_, pero no puedes jugar agarrar culo cuando lo desee. Inténtelo de nuevo y voy a abofetear tu cara, no con la mano."

Quinn just rolled her eyes, used to Santana's Latino fury by now. She ran right past a disgruntled Finn to get to Sam, immediately checking him for any serious injuries – of which there were none, these were just _snowballs_, after all.

While Brittany maneuvered Artie's chair into an upright position, Kurt made his way towards Blaine, whispering a small,

"_Are you okay?"_

Kurt looked almost frantic, he was biting his lip and he couldn't help but think what else Karofsky had in store. But Blaine quickly put his fears to rest with a reassuring smile.

"_Kurt, I'm fine. Don't worry so much…it's cute, but I'm okay."_

The cheerleader blushed a bit and brushed the snow off of Blaine's shoulder.

Tina was busy getting some snow out of Mike's collar, only giving a fleeting glance to the last of the letterman jackets disappearing around the corner.

"What creeps."

Brittany was unconcerned, though, as she reassured the group.

"It's okay. I wrote to Santa making sure they would be on his naughty list."

Everyone seemed to pause what they were doing, quickly looking up and sharing a concerned glance before dismissing the comment.

Mike brushed the last bit of snow off his sleeve and then wrapped Tina in his arms, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Forget them. It's a great night; we won't let them ruin it."

Tine smiled up at Mike, pulling herself closer towards him.

Blaine spoke as he attempted to straighten out his scarf, Kurt batting his hands away and quickly fixing the fabric himself.

"So who else are we waiting for?"

Finn glanced around, taking a quick inventory of who was here.

"Uh…Rachel and Mercedes. They should be here really soon, but I said we would meet them over by that first light display down there."

There was a general murmur of agreement and the group began to walk down the path, quickly striking up conversations and unintentionally allowing Kurt and Blaine a quick moment to really acknowledge each other without trying to brush off snow or straighten clothes.

Everyone else's voices got quieter and quieter the farther away they got from the couple.

Kurt turned towards Blaine with a warm smile spread across his face, his nose and cheeks a rosy shade of pink from the cold.

Blaine smiled back, resisting the urge to take Kurt's hand in his own and they stood for a second, light grins playing on their lips as the gazed at each other.

Kurt took a deep breath and turned his head to look up at the stars.

"It's so beautiful here, I think you're really gonna love it."

Kurt looked back over to see Blaine still gazing at him.

"I know I am."

Kurt smiled and nudged Blaine with his shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go catch up with them."

They were still grinning as theu both walked over to the rest of the group, Christmas music lightly playing through the strategically placed stereos all around the park.

"Blaine!"

Blaine's head shot over in Rachel's direction, who looked overly excited to see him, her arm in the air as she waved wildly at him.

_Oh no._

Rachel's face turned a bright pink, a shade that perfectly matched her winter coat, as she made her way over to Blaine.

"I didn't realize you were coming."

"Uh…yep, I did."

Blaine used all his power not to look into her wide, deranged, brown eyes as she gripped onto his arm while Kurt and Mercedes stood there snickering.

"Isn't this place so romantic?"

She latched herself onto Blaine, trying to fit her head into the crook of his neck.

"I mean, despite the stunning lack of Jewish décor. It's the perfect place for two rather attractive people to stroll along…"

Rachel looked away; trying to be what she thought was 'bashful'.

"…maybe even…"

She suddenly looked back up at Blaine, staring into his eyes and looking like a borderline lunatic.

"…fall in love."

Rachel was grasping onto Blaine's arms, pointedly staring at Finn, trying to make him jealous. But his attention was turned on Quinn and Sam, watching them with a frown on his face.

Kurt and Mercedes were nearly doubled over in laughter, barely able to contain themselves as they watched the insanity playing out in front of them. Blaine was struggling to remove himself from Rachel, glancing over to Kurt in desperation.

Kurt smiled at Blaine as he walked over to the pair, taking Rachel by the arms and pulling her away, shouting as he did so.

"Alright guys! Everyone is _officially_ here so we can get started!"

The whole group let out small cheers, glad they could finally enjoy the night. They began down the main path of the park, stopping every once in a while to look at a particularly amazing light display before continuing on. Mercedes and Blaine were strolling down the path together, having a nice conversation and feeling very comfortable with each other, their friendship really beginning to show.

Rachel and Kurt were a few steps behind, walking arm in arm.

"So, Kurt."

The second Rachel said that, Kurt knew he was about to get bombarded by insane questions about his 'Mystery Man' so he immediately cut her off.

"Nope. I'm not going to talk about this."

Rachel took a dramatic sigh.

"Fine, _don't_ tell me anything."

Kurt smiled at her theatrics and gently bumped her with his hip as they walked. She grinned back at him, and when she looked forwards something caught her eye and an idea popped into her head.

"Rachel….I know that look…what are you doing."

She quickly answered back.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

She just turned and smiled at him, then began to pick up the pace, walking faster until she had nudged her way in-between Mercedes and Blaine, releasing her grip on Kurt and linking arms with him instead. Kurt began protesting, but she wasn't listening at all.

"Rachel, don't! Really? I thought we were done with this!"

Blaine immediately tensed up, getting ready to cut and _run_. But then he saw the look on her face. It was a familiar smile, full of mischief and very well-known to Blaine. He still had no idea what was going on but for some reason he decided to go with it. She gave him a small nod when he relaxed and she grinned as she spoke.

"So, Blaine."

Kurt's eyes went wide.

_Oh god no._

"Have you heard about Kurt's new man?"

Kurt let out a loud groan and Mercedes laughed. Blaine realized that, at least at this moment, he and Rachel were on the same team. He put a hand on his cheek in mock delight.

"Kurt has a 'man'? Do tell!"

Rachel giggled, holding tighter to Blaine's arm.

"Well, apparently, he is a very good kisser and Kurt has been taking full advantage of it. In case you couldn't tell by the various hickeys that have been dotting Kurt's neck recently."

Blaine gasped.

"Kurt, I didn't realize you were so scandalous!"

Kurt could still be heard complaining.

"It was just one hickey, guys."

Blaine smirked, knowing just how much of a lie that statement was; he could think of _plenty_ of other hickeys, all of them strategically placed in well hidden spots. Blaine leaned forwards a bit, looking over to Kurt.

"Kurt, tell us all about your new man!"

Kurt lifted an eyebrow at Blaine

_You really want to play this game?_

Blaine smiled even bigger and Kurt shrugged.

"Fine. I'll tell you _all about _him."

Mercedes, who had been silent until now, turned to Kurt.

"Wait, really."

"Really, really."

Rachel squealed, her little hands clapping together in excitement.

"He is _extremely_ attractive. Well, actually, he's gorgeous. He has beautiful eyes and great hair. Very adorable, almost puppy-like sometimes. He's sweet, and yes, Rachel, he is an _amazing _kisser."

He looked over to the girls, taking in their reactions before looking Blaine straight in the eye.

"An. Amazing. Kisser."

Blaine's already pink cheeks turned scarlet when Kurt gave him a wink. A small noise came out of Blaine's mouth, and Rachel was too busy giggling to even notice. Kurt began laughing, slowly starting to enjoy this more than Blaine was.

As the night went on, small groups began to break off and explore. Sam and Quinn went strolling down a path lined with light-filled pines, known as 'Star-Light Lane', Finn looking extremely off-put as he watched them walk away hand in hand.

Mike and Tina also ran off, heading towards a forty-foot tall Christmas tree covered in sparkling ornaments and wanting some alone time as well.

Santana and Brittany had disappeared a while back and were nowhere to be found, probably in some hidden spot where they could safely enjoy a little make out session with little to no danger of being seen.

Rachel decided to drag Kurt and Mercedes off to see 'the most amazing lighting display in here' which was really only an oversized menorah covered in twinkling lights, but even so she still insisted it was 'heartbreakingly beautiful'.

This left Blaine, Finn, Puck and Artie as the only ones still standing there. They walked around for a bit until Puck decided to start throwing snowballs at a group of middle schoolers. Artie tried to stop him, only to get hit with one himself.

"Two times in one night? Uh-uh these kids are going _down!_"

Finn and Blaine jumped in, all of them getting into a friendly, more enjoyable, snowball fight. The younger kids left, but that didn't stop them. The four boys continued pelting balls of ice at each other until they got yelled at by a park official. They laughed it off, Blaine falling into the snow and making a snow angel. Artie moved his wheels back and forth, making what he called a 'chair angel' while Puck sculpted a half-assed, lopsided snowman who he named "Finn". Finn rolled his eyes, pushing Puck into his snow buddy and causing it to turn into a pile of mush.

"Now it _really_ looks like you!"

They laughed for a while, all of them deciding that now would be the perfect time to go find one of those stands selling snacks so they would have something to do while they waited for the rest of the group to come back.

They bought some salted pretzels, hot dogs, and various other greasy junk food items and settled into one of the tables near a huge display of lights.

Blaine grabbed a hot dog and set it on his plate.

"Did you guys happen to see the way that Rachel was, oh, I don't know, latching onto me and trying to suck my soul out through her eyes when she first got here?"

Finn gave him thumbs up.

"You have fun with that. I had to deal with her insanity all last year and now it's your turn."

Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"So how exactly did you get rid of her?"

Finn set down his slice of pizza, wiping his mouth off with a napkin.

"If you've noticed, I still haven't."

"True…"

Blaine went to button up his jacket when Artie shrugged his shoulders.

"Well at least she hasn't sung to you yet."

Blaine's hands froze on the first button.

"…What…She _actually_ does that?"

Finn's mouth turned into a sour frown.

"All the time. Like, _all_ the time. Don't be surprised if you start getting emails of her singing."

The look of horror on Blaine's face was almost comical. By now he was really starting to regret his little moment of teamwork with Rachel earlier that night.

"Seriously?"

Artie nodded, gesturing with his hands while he spoke.

"Yeah, thing about Rachel is that she likes to _sing_ her feelings."

Puck shrugged.

"I don't know what you guys are so worked up about. Yeah she's a little crazy but she's hot. I'd tap it."

The other three guys stopped mid-chew to gape at Puck.

"Well I would. Almost did, actually."

Finn rolled his eyes while Blaine slowly shook his head.

"She's all yours then."

Finn was about to take another bite of pizza when a strange look appeared on his face.

"Hey, Artie, I know this is random, but where did Brittany go?"

Artie looked completely unalarmed when he replied.

"Oh, she and Santana already left, they said they wanted to have a girls' night in."

Finn nodded and Puck shook his head.

"Dude, you don't see what's going on?"

Artie was genuinely confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"Really. A 'girls' night in'?"

Blaine shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, what? Mercedes and Rachel have those all the time."

Puck was close to face-palming, instead just letting out a quiet whisper _'You guys are idiots.'_

Blaine went to take another bite of his hot dog when he heard a voice behind him.

"Looks like you're really enjoying that sausage, Blaine."

The smile dropped off his face and his mouth formed a tight line.

_Can't I just have one day where Karofsky doesn't ruin every single thing? Is that really too much to ask?_

He slowly turned his head to the side, watching as Karofsky and a few other jocks walked by the group, all of them now silent and ready to attack.

Once Karofsky had passed in front of them he turned around and delivered the punch line as he walked backwards.

"Because we all know just how much you love meat."

"Goddamn it, Karofsky-"

Blaine threw his hot dog down onto the ground, nearly leaping out of his seat, but Puck was holding him back, keeping him from destroying a simple night.

"Dude, he's not worth it."

Karofsky walked away from the group, a smirk on his face.

Blaine shook Puck's arm from him and sat back down in his seat, grimacing over his lost appetite.

Finn spoke up.

"Ignore him. He's just butt hurt that he's not on top anymore."

Blaine released a long, frustrated breath out of his noise, trying to calm himself.

A smile instantly reappeared on his face as he looked to the left and spotted Mercedes and Kurt walking towards them, Rachel in between them as she practically skipped down that path, holding both of their hands.

"Wasn't that just magical?"

Mercedes glanced over at Kurt, both of them speaking in the same, unenthused voice.

"Yes, Rachel. Truly magical."

The little brunette grinned from ear to ear, giggling all the way over to the guys.

Her laughter was loud and Finn's eyes went wide the second he heard it. He turned to Puck and Artie.

"So I think now would be a good time to head back to Artie's for some Halo?"

Artie nodded his head quickly and Finn got out of his seat, roughly grabbing Puck by the collar even though he kept complaining that,

"I really don't think she's that bad. You know, if you just mute out her voice."

Finn glanced over at Blaine,

"You coming?"

Blaine laughed.

"I think I'll stay for a little bit longer, they have a gift shop and I still need to get a present for my brother."

Finn shrugged, but didn't waste any time in leaving, getting out of there as fast as possible to avoid any time with Rachel.

Blaine watched them practically run down the path, only turning when he heard footsteps behind him and Rachel's unmistakable voice.

"Where are they running off to?"

Blaine got up from his seat, glancing back at the guys as he stood while making up the least convincing excuse ever.

"Uh, curfew?"

He turned to face Kurt before Rachel could comment back, a grin on his face while he asked a question he _clearly_ knew the answer to.

"So how was the menorah?"

Kurt and Mercedes quickly spoke,

"Mediocre."

"Unimpressive."

But their voices were drowned out by Rachel's.

"I almost cried."

Blaine raised an eyebrow at Kurt and he nodded in reply.

"It's true, I have the mascara stained tissues to prove it."

Mercedes smiled and rolled her eyes.

"_Anyways, _Rachel and I were going to head back to my house and watch 'La Cage Aux Folles', do you want to join?"

Blaine had to stifle his laughter when he remembered that that movie was in French. Kurt quickly elbowed him in the ribs to wipe that grin off his face. Blaine looked over at Rachel, who seemed _way_ too excited at the prospect of spending time with him. He tore his eyes away, mildly terrified when he turned his attention back to Mercedes.

"Uh, I'd love to, but I'm already pushing it with my parents by being out _this_ late."

Rachel then looked to Kurt, hoping to drill him with more questions to make up for the dissatisfaction of not having Blaine to cuddle with. Kurt immediately caught on and quickly supplied them with an answer.

"Thanks but I already asked Tina for a ride home. Another time."

Blaine looked really confused when he heard that, but Rachel just pouted, clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be getting more about his 'Mystery Man' out of him tonight.

"_Fineee_. I'll text you later."

Both girls gave little waves, quickly giving their goodbyes, Mercedes saying

"Merry Christmas."

And Rachel immediately correcting her with a,

"Happy _Holidays_."

As they left the park.

Once they were out of earshot, Blaine gave Kurt a puzzled glance.

"I thought Tina and Mike were going on a double date with Quinn and Sam to Breadstix?"

Kurt nodded slowly, waiting for him to understand.

"They are…"

"But haven't they already left?"

"They have…"

Suddenly it dawned on him.

"Oh…"

Blaine grinned.

"Sneaky."

Kurt laughed and then became serious, examining his nails and feigning disinterest in Blaine.

"So, everyone else is gone."

Blaine crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders, looking off into the distance and playing along with Kurt's little game.

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed..."

They paused for a second, both of them turning to look at each other, breaking into laughter at their sarcasm.

"Let's go."

Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and began leading him over to the hot cocoa stand.

"Blaine, I thought we were going to Star-Light Lane! Quinn said it was amazing!"

He looked over at Kurt, eyes like a pleading puppy's as he grabbed both of Kurt's hands in his.

"Pleaseee, I didn't get you anything for Christmas, the least I can do is buy you some hot cocoa."

Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, sighing as he 'reluctantly' agreed.

"Fine, let's go get some cocoa."

"Yay!"

Blaine nearly jumped in the air and dragged him, arm in arm, over to the stand. There was no line, the park was almost empty now that it was so late and they quickly got their drinks.

"Two hot cocoas, please."

Blaine spotted a box of candy canes and quickly turned to Kurt.

"Do you want one?"

"Umm, do I want one? Uhh, yes, oh well, no, they're so bad for you. No, no candy cane."

Blaine nodded and reached into his pocket for a few more dollars.

"And one candy cane, please."

Kurt laughed and shook his head at Blaine, but smiled as he accepted the drink and the sweet.

"Come on, you goofball, let's go."

" 'kay."

They began to walk over to the entrance for the Star-Light Lane. Blaine took a drink of his cocoa, getting whipped cream on his nose in the process. He began to stick out his tongue, desperately trying to get to the bit of cream stuck there, his eyes going crossed as he did so.

Kurt noticed what was going on and giggled.

"What are you doing?"

Blaine scrunched his eyebrows and mumbled, tongue still sticking out of his mouth and making his words come out all jumbled.

"Tryin' tuh get thu whip cweam."

"Here, let me-"

Kurt laughed and lifted his finger to Blaine's nose, wiping away the cream. Blaine's face lit up and he suddenly leaned forwards to lick it off in one swipe. Kurt's eyes went wide and he began blushing furiously.

Blaine laughed at the sight.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Kurt lifted and eyebrow and nodded, cheeks still a bit red. He repositioned his body so he was facing the tree lined path.

"Shall we?"

Blaine gave him a cheesy smile.

"We shall."

Blaine kissed Kurt on the cheek and put an arm around his waist, pulling him in close to his side as they began to walk forwards. The trees around them were filled with twinkling, white lights, like little stars shining just for them, casting a soft glow over everything and making the whole night look enchanting.

There was a pause in the Christmas music as songs changed and Blaine quietly whispered in his ear.

"Did you really mean what you said before?"

Kurt gave him a funny smile before letting his head rest against Blaine.

"Of course I did, you're perfect."

"No, I'm not."

Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine. He spoke softly, his voice tired but full of sincerity.

"You may not see it, but you are."

Blaine gave Kurt a sweet kiss.

"Thank you."

Kurt smiled at him, a peaceful smile full of affection.

"Any time."

The next song came on and a relaxed silence settled over the couple, the only other noise the crunch of fallen leaves underneath their feet. They walked on, footsteps in time and heartbeats in sync, Blaine softly humming along with the song. Kurt absentmindedly began to sing quietly, unintentionally catching Blaine's attention and making him stop humming so he could hear better.

He was glancing over, watching Kurt's face and the tranquil expression it held. A bit of wind blew down the lane and they immediately held each other tighter, not so much needing the warmth that the other provided, but just needing to be closer, because in that moment, with Kurt softly singing and the lights all around them they needed nothing more.

The couple reached the end of the lane, the path splitting off into a few different ways, but they didn't stop walking. Kurt guided Blaine down the left path, further into the park, until they came upon a Cinderella-like carriage covered in twinkling lights.

"I walked passed this with Rachel and Mercedes earlier. I thought you might like it."

Blaine looked at Kurt and smiled, quickly breaking free from his arm and running towards the carriage. He put out a hand and bowed slightly.

"Your carriage awaits, Monsieur."

Kurt grinned, but played along, taking Blaine's hand as he stepped inside. Blaine crawled in after him, immediately snuggling into Kurt as they sat on the wooden bench.

He looked up in wonder at the Christmas lights, whispering to Kurt.

"I feel like royalty."

Kurt laughed a bit, swirling his candy cane in his hot cocoa,

"Please, I _am _royalty."

Kurt slid the length of the candy cane into his mouth, slowly sucking on it as he bobbed it in and out, innocently savoring the flavor.

Blaine stared at Kurt's unintentional action, his mouth slightly hanging open and the taller boy gave him a quizzical look, letting his tongue slip away from the candy.

"What?"

Blaine tried in vain to regain focus as words stumbled out of his mouth.

"That was…just…really…"

Blaine was so distracted that his drink tipped in his hands, spilling cocoa on his pant leg.

"HOT, Hot! Oh my god, really hot."

Kurt began laughing, quickly reaching into his pockets for some napkins and wiping away the drink from his leg.

He smiled up at Blaine,

"Very smooth."

And the shorter boy let out a little laugh, stuffing the used napkins into his now empty cup and setting it on the floor of the carriage, Kurt did the same with his cup, not even bothering to finish the drink.

When they sat back up Kurt felt Blaine's hand on the sleeve of his Cheerio jacket.

"Have I ever told you how much I _love _your Cheerios uniform?"

"Blaine!"

Kurt blushed and ducked his head in that adorable way that Blaine loved so much. He brought his hand up to rest on Kurt's chest, fiddling with the material of his jacket.

"I'm serious! You should wear it more often. Not that I don't love the outfits you usually wear. I don't know, seeing you in it just…it kinda makes this whole thing more cliché. I-in a good way. You know, the whole cheerleader and football player thing."

Kurt laughed a little and ran a hand down Blaine's arm

"Well…you _do _look pretty cute in that letterman jacket."

Blaine beamed at Kurt, a huge smile lighting up his face.

Kurt sat back in his seat and Blaine cuddled into his side, arms wrapping around Kurt and head lying on his shoulder. Kurt let his eyes drift shut for a second, taking in the soft music that filled his ears.

"Mmm, I love this song."

Blaine took hold of Kurt's hand, laying it flat with his palm facing up.

"Me too."

He began to trace the pattern of lines on Kurt's hand, music slowly lulling them into a deep relaxation.

After a little bit, Blaine spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You know, this was all an accident."

Kurt smiled, his eyes still closed.

"Of course it was an accident. No one spills hot cocoa on themselves on_ purpose."_

Blaine let out a small laugh, his fingers still toying with Kurt's hand.

"No, no that's not what I'm talking about."

Kurt's eyes opened and he stared at their hands in curiosity as Blaine continued on.

"I mean this. You. Me…_Us_. I never meant to…find anyone…when I came here. I just, you know, figured I'd pretend to be straight and get through high school as quickly as possible. But, you kinda ruined that plan on my first day."

Kurt looked down at Blaine.

"What? The first day? Blaine, we met at my house. That was like, a whole week in."

Blaine returned Kurt's gaze, clasping their hands together as he did so.

"But I saw you that first day, during football practice. I knew there was no way I could ever forget about you. And believe me, I tried."

Blaine gave a small laugh and Kurt returned the smile.

"Same."

Every feature on Blaine's face softened and he immediately brought his free hand up to Kurt's cheek, leaning up to give him a kiss. The kiss was so simple, so sweet; the couple never wanted it to end. But they finally broke free, and no words were said, no words needed to be said.

Blaine blinked a few times, glancing down at their clasped hands, speaking as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over Kurt's fingers.

"I- I wanted to ask you something. And I don't really…know how to, but I want to."

Blaine sat up a bit straighter so he could look Kurt straight in the eyes.

"Kurt Hummel, w- will you be my boyfriend?"

Kurt broke out into happy laughter, a smile filling up his face.

Blaine looked confused.

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes! Yes, of course it's a yes!"

Blaine was now smiling too, as Kurt pointed up at the ceiling of the carriage.

"Mistletoe."

Blaine looked up and then smiled, leaning forwards for a quick kiss. He placed a hand on Kurt's cheek, eyes closed as he spoke.

"Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas, Blaine."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Hi, Blaine!"

Blaine was about to close his locker door when he heard that, making him jump and accidentally slam his locker shut. He looked over, visibly relaxed when he saw that it was only Brittany and her lovable grin waiting for him.

Blaine was a bit confused, but still glad to see her; she always managed to make him smile.

"Oh, uh, hey Brittany. What's up?"

She looked both serious and hopeful when she replied.

"I needed to ask you for something."

Blaine thought he knew what she wanted and immediately replied, a slight grin on his face at Brittany's naiveté.

"Thanks, but I think I gave you my number last week-"

But Brittany, much to Blaine's surprise, pulled a small plastic cup out of her bag and handed it to him. He automatically took the cup, but something was off and he knew it. Blaine eyed her suspiciously, only loosely holding onto the plastic as if having a firm grasp on it would suddenly make things so much worse.

"What's this for?"

Brittany stood, hands clasped behind her back and lightly swaying from side to side in time with whatever happy music she had running through her head.

"I have a test in math tomorrow and I figure I won't fail it if I answer all the questions with dots of glitter, but Lord Tubbington sold all of mine for ecstasy. So, I was hoping you could fill my cup up for me. "

He stood very still, petrified of what Brittany was insinuating and even more confused than before.

"Um…how exactly am I supposed to do that again?"

Blaine was almost afraid to ask, not knowing what the answer would bring. Brittany just stopped swaying and shrugged innocently, reaching a hand up and twirling curls around her finger.

"I don't know. I always hear the Coach Sue saying gay guys are made of rainbow glitter. I thought you'd know how to get it out."

There was silence after that and Blaine could only stare at the cup in his hand, thoughts racing through his head at a thousand miles a minute, going so fast until they turned into an indiscernible blur. He was frozen in place, only able to move his eyes to slowly look up at Brittany. That was it, the one thing that would destroy him. People knew, people _knew_, and to have such devastating information be brought to him by such an innocently unknowing person; the world was cruel that way.

Brittany was once again swaying her hips this way and that and watching as her skirt flared each time she moved.

She had _no_ _idea_.

Blaine stood watching the rhythmic rise and fall of the fabric for a bit, his silent panic going unnoticed by her. He wet his lips, preparing himself to bring this out into the open.

"A-are you saying I'm"

His voice lowered to just above a whisper, not wanting to fully acknowledge that somebody else might know.

"…gay?"

Brittany immediately stopped swaying and Blaine's eyes shot up to meet her gaze just as her head tilted to the side, resembling a curious puppy that had no idea the trouble it had just caused by tearing up the couch cushions.

"Aren't you?"

Blaine could feel his heart stop. It was the confirmation he had so badly wanted to be a denial and it made everything feel excruciatingly real.

"That's what some of the guys said in my homeroom. Anyways, if you could just hand that back to me at lunch, that'd be great! Thanks!"

Brittany frolicked off, her absent-mindedly upbeat attitude making her painfully oblivious to Blaine as the cup fell from his grasp, hitting the floor and releasing an odd, hollow sound.

That sound echoed in Blaine's ears, time almost slowing as each pitch hit him like a slap in the face. He couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. All he could do was watch his perfect new world that he had tried so hard to shape and mold and create, where he had stayed safely hidden, safely tucked away and protected from the hatred and the beatings, crack and crumble before his eyes without being able to do a single thing to stop it.

_No _

Blaine had a hand up against the wall, trying to keep his breathing in check and to keep from collapsing onto the floor. He had tried so hard. He had done _everything_; taken every precaution he could to prevent this. It _couldn't_ be over.

_NO._

He smacked his hand against the wall before taking off, not even thinking, just letting his legs take him where he needed to go. He turned sharply down the hallway. And another. And another. Thoughts raced through his head like wild fire, trying to swallow him up whole. But he kept running. His heart was pounding so hard it was all he heard. A constant upbeat thump ringing from ear to ear. He saw nothing. His mind was spinning so fast that it couldn't focus on any single image in front of him. He probably would have passed out if it wasn't for the massive amounts of adrenaline coursing through him. He turned down one more corridor, finally spotting who he had been involuntarily looking for.

"Kurt!"

Kurt looked up, his bright smile at the sound of Blaine's voice instantly falling when he saw his face. Blaine grabbed him by the sleeve of his uniform and pulled him, rather harshly, to the side of the hallway.

"What's wr-"

"Did you tell anyone about us?!"

Blaine's whisper was cold and rigid, barely escaping through his clenched jaw. Kurt made the mistake of looking into his eyes, staring into tiny flames of fear and panic. It was horrifying.

"W-what are you talking about?"

Kurt tried to place a hand on Blaine's arm, in some futile attempt to comfort him, but he pulled away as if the touch had seared his skin.

"'Cause apparently half of Brittany's class thinks I'm gay!"

Blaine's body seemed to freeze as the words left his mouth; he stared down at the floor, looking as though he could puke. Because the moment he said those words he admitted it. This was no longer a nightmare that he could wake up from and brush off and keeping hoping for the best. This was real; there was no going back, because this was happening. _Again._

What felt like tortuous hours were really a few seconds, both of them standing there in silence trying to form a coherent thought.

"Blaine, I promise I didn't-"

He once again tried to touch him, only this time Blaine yanked his arm away violently, taking a step back in the process. Blaine wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep everything together. His voice quieted to a whisper, pleading as he looked into Kurt's eyes.

"I can't go through this again, Kurt. I _can't_."

Kurt looked at Blaine, at the way he covered his body with his arms, at the way he stared at the floor, scuffing a foot against the ground; like a small, terrified child. And now all the scary monsters he had managed to hide back in his closet were breaking free, grasping for him, reaching out their claws and trying to dig sharp talons into him, ready and eager to drag him back down into the all consuming darkness. The sight was far too heart breaking for Kurt to be upset, regardless of how callous his boyfriend was acting.

Blaine looked up to him, repeating his past question, needing reassurance and some sense of security.

"Did you tell anyone about us? Anyone at all?"

Kurt immediately answered back, a fierce protectiveness in his voice.

"I didn't say anything. I would _never_ do that to you. Especially not after what happened to you before-"

Memories came crashing back into Blaine's head; the monsters of the past rearing their ugly heads. He drew back and shut his eyes tight, as if he was trying to shrink away from the world. The panic in his voice rose higher as more students crowded the hallway.

"I-I can't deal with this right now. I gotta go."

Blaine took off and Kurt didn't try to stop him, just watched his form as he raced down the hall and disappeared through the doors. Blaine had worked too hard to restart his life; too hard on being this different person, on making different friends. Too hard on maintaining the sense of normality he so deeply craved. He was _not _about to let it fall apart.

_This isn't over. It can't be over._

* * *

Kurt charged down the hallway, kids stepping out of his way to avoid being the target of his wrath. He was almost shaking with anger, bursting at the seams with rage and it took everything in him not to explode.

"Stop it."

His words came out as a vicious snarl, barely even recognizable as words at all, but Karofsky didn't even glance over at him as he opened his locker.

"Shouldn't you be trying on new shoes or crying over spilt sequins?"

Kurt slammed the locker shut and just the noise itself proved that he was not willing to be ignored.

"I know what you're doing. So stop it."

Karofsky looked straight ahead at his locker, not letting himself give into Kurt's unspoken demand just yet.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything."

Kurt didn't try to calm himself, didn't even want to _be _calm, he let his fury run through him, only a few decibels away from a deafening yell.

"I know about the rumors, David! I thought we had a deal."

He turned to Kurt, seemingly more annoyed and pissed off than actually enraged.

"Look. I didn't _start_ any rumors. It's not my fault you two spend all your damn time together acting like 'gay besties'."

The jealously in his voice at those final words were almost undetected in the midst of Kurt's rage. Karofsky began to walk away and was completely caught off guard when Kurt reached out, his hand digging into his arm and keeping him from moving. Kurt's voice dropped to a growl and he stared Karofsky right in the eye with a fierce glare.

"Don't you _dare _talk me like I'm stupid. Maybe you didn't _start_ the rumors but you're definitely spreading them. And you need to stop or else-"

Karofsky tore his arm from Kurt's iron grip and took a step towards him, trying to intimidate.

"Or else what?"

But it was no use, Kurt stood his ground and continued staring at Karofsky with more hate than he knew he contained.

"Or else I'll tell everyone what _you_ did to me in that locker room. Wasn't that the agreement?"

Karofsky sneered at the cheerleader.

"You're bluffing."

Kurt narrowed his eyes, slowly putting his arms across his chest.

"Are you _really_ willing to risk that?"

David scoffed, attempting to hide how utterly terrified he was. He was _not_ about to be bested by Kurt Hummel.

"No one would believe you. It's your word against mine. You think you can just strut around in some gay ass cheerleader outfit and all of a sudden you've got heat at this school? You're nothing, Hummel. You always have been, always will be."

Karofsky had to end it there; he couldn't let things go any farther than this. He was about to take a step when Kurt stopped him in his tracks, this time only with words, not even needing to physically hold him there.

"You've made _a lot_ of enemies here. You really think there aren't people just _dying_ to get dirt on you?"

Karofsky shut his eyes, knowing he was right. Kurt held the fate of the rest of Karofsky's life in his hands, holding it out, testing him, ready to smash it into a thousand pieces at a moment's notice. And Karofsky knew the worst part; he knew he was the one who had forced Kurt into such a position. And he had no one to blame but himself.

The panic in him began to build, quiet at first, then slowly rising until it was all he knew, consumed by it, he turned to the one thing he could fall back onto, the one thing that could solve problems, even if only for a little while. His face etched with rage, Karofsky turned to Kurt and was almost able to completely drown out the panic with his violent fury.

"I swear to god, Hummel! If you tell _anyone_ about that I will tear your faggy-ass boyfriend limb from limb and there won't be a single thing you can do about it except listen to him scream. You understand?"

The blood drained from Kurt's face, amazed at how the world could be so cruel as to have Karofsky so accurately lay out his worst nightmares.

But he refused to let David win; not this time, not about this.

He stared Karofsky down, trying his hardest to come up with some sort of loop hole. But he had nothing. Nothing he could fire back with. Nothing that gave him an upper hand.

He was out of ammo, out of fuel, and all he could imagine were those horrific images of Blaine laying, bloodied and beaten, that Karofsky had unwittingly brought back to him. He could _not_ let that happen, even if it meant having to let Blaine live with the rumors.

As much as it killed him inside, he had to surrender.

"Fine. I won't tell anyone."

Karofsky smirked at how easily his opponent caved, thinking it only proved his point about how weak Kurt was, but his glory was short lived.

Kurt's voice was full of fire and he was almost shaking with rage. His face was twisted into a scowl while his eyes contained the burning hot flames of vengeance and he couldn't hold back his unadulterated fury as he spat his words out.

"But you had better believe me when I say that if you lay a finger, a single _finger_, on Blaine, I will rain Hell down upon your pathetic, meaningless life. I _mean it_, David. You touch him; there will be not one inch of this school, town, or even state you can _crawl_ to where everyone doesn't know _exactly_ who you are."

This time it was Karofsky who stood frozen, unable to move as his fear paralyzed him, barely even noticing when Kurt breezed by him. This was far from over.

* * *

The whistle blew and the four guys currently at the front of drill lines began running, each of them dragging a huge tire behind them. Blaine was one of the four and he threw all of his concentration in the rhythmic pounding of his feat against the grass and the steady in-out of his breathing; it was all he could do to keep himself calm.

Blaine reached one end of the field and turned around, not even noticing as he passed the other three guys who were now groaning and complaining but he just kept moving, only slowing when he had to take a hand off the tire and wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead.

The smell of freshly cut grass filled his nostrils, his breathing getting even harsher and he began pushing himself beyond his limit, speeding up his feet until he was going as fast as he could possibly go. Breathing was almost impossible now, but he didn't care, his mind was utterly empty and he didn't have to focus on anything but keeping his balance.

He saw the white line painted on the grass signaling the other end of the field and let the tire fall to the ground, the large piece of rubber hitting the floor with a loud smack. Blaine bent over, hands on his knees when he glanced up and saw that none of the other three football players were back yet, a grimace that could barely pass for a smile coming over his face.

_At least I'll always be the fastest one here._

He closed his eyes and hung his head, letting his breathing and body temperature go back to a somewhat normal level. Eventually he heard three more smacks against the grass along with objections about the heat and the weight of the tires, signaling to Blaine that the rest of the boys had finally finished the drill.

Coach Beiste had been getting these protests all practice and she was finally fed up.

"Alright! Alright! Fine, take a five minute water break! But I don't want to hear a single groan when you get back!"

The team slumped its way over to the side lines and Blaine tried his hardest to ignore the stares and the whispers, as if refusing to acknowledge them meant they didn't exist. He only gave a short nod whenever Finn or Puck waved to him, keeping his head ducked as he pulled out his water bottle. His eyes, however, acted of their own accord and he found himself catching a group of teammates staring at him. They immediately turned back around, whispering something to each other.

Karofsky walked over to the whispering group, giving Blaine a malicious grin before joining in their conversation. Blaine couldn't stand the sight and quickly turned his head away, forcing himself to ignore the conspicuous group.

He was taking another sip of water when Sue's bullhorn caught his attention.

"That was terrible! Take five to bask in your stench of failure and self-disgust."

Blaine knew what was coming next and he turned away from the cheerleaders in anticipation.

"Hey Blaine. Can we talk-"

But Blaine just took another drink of water, completely ignoring Kurt when he spoke.

"Blaine? Are you seriously mad at me about this?"

Blaine didn't even look at Kurt, not even a glance.

"Blaine-"

He suddenly spoke up, turning his head only the slightest bit to acknowledge that he was talking to Kurt.

"Can you stop? Please? People are staring and…can we talk about this later?"

Kurt opened his mouth, ready to give Blaine an earful when he looked around. Blaine was right; people _were _staring…_a_ _lot_ of people. Almost everyone on the football team and a good amount of Cheerios were facing them, whispering rumors to each other.

"Fine."

Blaine closed his eyes, listening as Kurt's footsteps faded. He stood like that until Beiste blew her whistle, wanting to avoid seeing the stares for as long as possible.

They began another set of drills and another and another. Which drills they did, Blaine didn't remember. He only knew the feeling of his breathing and the burn of exercise in his muscles, blocking everything that wasn't physical out of his mind. But somehow, the notions still crept inside, silently and stealthily; Blaine not even realizing their existence until a fully formed thought was swimming around in his head.

All he had wanted was to be normal, to just fly under the radar and coast through the rest of high school unnoticed and uninjured. It didn't seem like some impossible far out thing and since the day he got to WMHS, everything had been going up. Life was good and he was actually happy and everything was so nice. But when he had finally just reached that perfect normalcy, everything was torn away from him and he was being forced to watch as it fell to pieces in front of his very eyes.

Blaine was only barely aware when the whistle blew and practice was over. He slowly grabbed his bag and headed to the locker room, shooting off a quick text to Kurt.

Blaine: Please just meet me out under the bleachers in 10. We need to talk.

He received no reply, but after showering and changing he still went out to wait underneath the bleachers, just hoping that Kurt wouldn't be so angry that he wouldn't meet him.

He waited for ten minutes and Kurt hadn't shown, waited for twenty minutes and Kurt hadn't shown. It was thirty minutes later when Blaine saw Kurt turn the corner and walk towards him, only noticing the frown on his face when he got closer.

Blaine was leaning up against the metal and Kurt took the spot next to him, for once not saying anything about getting his uniform dirty. Blaine spoke quietly.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

Kurt placed his hand over Blaine's, trying to show some sort of comfort even though he had every right to be angry as hell at him.

"Of course I did, you're my boyfriend and I care about you."

But then he sighed and Blaine knew that sigh well, it meant that a time for comfort was over and things were about to get serious. Kurt took hold of Blaine's hand and stood right in front of him, staring at him even though he would only stare at the ground.

"Blaine, look. I understand that you're scared and upset, but I didn't do anything to you. It's not fair that you're taking this out on me."

Blaine let his hand fall from Kurt's, still refusing to look him in the eye.

"I'm not taking it out on you, Kurt. I just…we can't be around at school together, at least not until the rumors clear up."

Kurt folded his arms across his chest, an icy undertone creeping its way into his voice.

"You don't think that's just _a little_ ridiculous?"

Blaine only looked at the gravel on the ground, the metal above, anything but Kurt, too ashamed to actually look him in the eye.

"Kurt, people think I'm gay _because_ of all the time we spend together. We're lucky enough that no one really knows we're going out. I think it's best that we keep our distance from each other."

Kurt quickly took one of Blaine's hands in his own and placed his other on Blaine's cheek, forcing the shorter boy to finally look him in the eye.

"Blaine, I know you're afraid but have you ever thought that maybe this is a good thing."

He looked into Kurt's eyes; he knew he was trying to help, trying to be optimistic, but Blaine still couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth. He stood up straight, taking a few steps away from Kurt and his caring hands.

"Are you freaking crazy?! How on _Earth_ is this a 'good thing'?"

But Kurt followed him closely and placed his hands on Blaine's shoulders.

"Well, I mean, if people already think you're gay then what's the harm of coming out? We could be together then and not have to worry anymore-"

Blaine turned to face him, his anger starting to get the better of him.

"You just don't get it do you?! I _can't _come out! I can't go through that again! You act like there is going to be some damn parade where everyone will throw confetti as we skip through the hallways, but I have news for you, Kurt! It's not like that!"

"Will you stop yelling at me?! I know it's not that easy! I've been through it Blaine! Remember?! I know-"

"No! You don't! What Karofsky did to you was terrible, Kurt. I'm not saying it wasn't. But at my old school it wasn't just one guy. It was ten times worse. And I just…I can't-"

Blaine's voice cracked on his final word and he was once again withdrawing into himself. Kurt's offensive front fell and, for once, when he put a hand on Blaine's arm, he didn't pull away.

"Blaine, I'm sorr-"

Blaine's anger began to mellow out, a tear escaping from his eye at the warmth of his boyfriend's touch.

"Do you know how many times I've heard 'I'm sorry'? Do you know what it does? Absolutely nothing! I'm tired of the 'I'm sorry' and the 'Everything will get better' because you know what? It doesn't freaking 'get better'! Nothing ever does! I thought I could finally be happy here, finally be normal, but now everyone knows and my life is going to be a living hell all over again!"

Tears were streaming down his face, and he did nothing to stop them. Just turned to Kurt, an overwhelming sadness in his eyes, and his voice quieted to a whisper.

"I can't, Kurt. I _can't._"

Kurt nodded, taking Blaine into his arms.

"I know, Blaine, I know. It's okay."

Blaine was holding onto him and Kurt could almost _feel_ the pain and the sorrow he had been holding inside, tucked away in some deep dark corner, now flowing out of him as he clung to Kurt, crying silent tears and sniffling every once in a while.

When Kurt noticed that the small whimpers had stopped, he gently moved Blaine away from him, smoothing out his hair and wiping his eyes dry. He spoke softly, his voice a warm comfort for Blaine.

"Blaine, I need you to talk to me. I want to help, but I can't do anything unless I know what happened at your old school."

Blaine nodded mutely, a hand coming up and wiping at his nose, just like a dopey little five year old would do. He opened his mouth to speak, but everything came out as stutters.

"A-at my o-old s-"

And that was as far as he got before his eyes began to close, Kurt could see the tears already beginning to form and he took hold of Blaine by the shoulders.

"No, Blaine, stop. C'mon, talk. Calm down, just breathe, and talk to me."

Blaine shut his eyes tighter and took a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds before breathing out slowly. Finally he opened his eyes and looked right at Kurt.

"A-at my old school, I was outted. You already k-know what happened with my friend, but I didn't leave just because e-everyone knew. It was so much worse than that."

Kurt nodded in encouragement and Blaine closed his eyes; diving back into his memories as he explained exactly what had happened.

"The day after everyone found out, I went to school; being an optimist, I thought that no one would care, that I would be fine. But the second I stepped inside the school, everyone was silent. It was almost surreal; like some dark, ominous cloud was looming over me. I tried to keep my head down, tried to ignore everyone's eyes on me. But I could hear the whispers above the silence. 'Fag' and 'Queer' and 'Freak'. I tried to block them out, but I couldn't, not when I got to my locker. The door was off its hinges; apparently they couldn't break the lock so they just tore it off, and my papers and books were torn up and thrown everywhere. They spray painted all these terrible things inside and out, it was just…I looked around for someone, anyone, for help, but they just stared. A few of them even laughed…It kept getting worse after that. Everywhere I'd go; locker rooms, hallways, classrooms, even the bathroom, there was someone there just dying to beat the crap out of me. Everyday just started to blur together, like one long, sick nightmare that I just couldn't escape. I must have complained to that school a dozen times. But no one was willing to help. I was completely alone. They only person at all who seemed to care at all was my brother. I honestly don't think I would have survived without him..."

His voice trailed off. He stared into space for a bit as a dark memory crawled it's way to the surface, one he had tried so hard to forget.

"I-I was leaving school one day. I was almost out the door when I saw this one guy from the baseball team carrying a bat. I turned, trying to get away, but there was another. I tried to find another way out, but then there were even more. It was a trap, they corralled me. I tried to run, but…I couldn't get away. Everything went black and…and I woke up three weeks later in the ICU."

Blaine's eyes finally opened and he saw Kurt, tears running down his face with no words to express how he felt.

For Blaine, it was oddly cathartic to not have to bottle that up anymore, and he found himself completely out of tears. Kurt suddenly pulled him into another hug and Blaine relaxed in his arms. After a while, Kurt spoke the only thing he could think to say.

"Y-you said it was your brother who helped you?"

"Yeah. Cooper."

Blaine's reply was muffled by the fabric of Kurt's collar where he had rested his head.

"I want to meet him"

Kurt spoke with an air of certainty. Blaine picked his head up, blinking in the light and he looked up at Kurt with an uncertain gaze.

"A-are you sure?"

"Yes. Definitely."

Blaine furrowed his brow for a second then looked back up to Kurt and gave him a short nod.

"Okay."

He then leaned forward into Kurt's arms, once again snuggling his head into the crook of Kurt's neck and letting himself forget the pain. The couple sat there like that for at least another hour, tangled up in each other's arms. Like two beings, forever tied to each other, needing the other to survive. Both battered and broken, wanting nothing more than to move on from the things that tore them down, yet still so full of compassion for one another.

And for that one little moment, everything felt a bit brighter again.

But the world was cruel.

And this was far from over.

* * *

**What? You didn't think we were going to **_**keep**_** them happy, did you? Lol xD Don't worry. You'll still have your fluff, but this is DEFINITELY not as worse as it gets :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**So yeah, not gonna lie, this is a bit of a filler chapter. But it's something we really wanted to put in and hopefully it will help lighten the mood a little bit :)**

**Btw, in case you couldn't tell, we think Matt Bomer is very VERY attractive… that is all.**

* * *

Chapter 17

Blaine: Bringing Kurt over for dinner. Put some pants on.

Cooper: Tell that to the girl I'm with…

Blaine: EW! THAT IS DISGUSTING!

Cooper: Lolololololol

You're the one who brought it up.

Blaine: I DID NOT!

Cooper: xD

Blaine: Please get her out.

NOW!

Cooper: Fine. Fine. Don't get your panties in a bunch.

I'd tell her that but…

Blaine: Don't.

Cooper: She's not wearing those either.

Blaine: I SAID DON'T! JESUS!

Cooper: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL xDDDDDDDDDDD

* * *

Blaine pulled up to an intimidating large iron gate. He waited for a second, eyes focused on the road while the small code on his car was read, automatically making the gate slowly swing wide open. Blaine put his foot on the gas and began driving forwards; finally noticing the raised eyebrow Kurt had been giving for the last minute or so.

"What?"

Kurt held up a hand, words failing him as he simply gestured to the enormous, decadent houses surrounding them. Once again, Blaine looked at Kurt, completely confused.

"What!"

"Blaine! You live here? You live _here?" _

He shrugged his shoulders, brushing it off like it was nothing.

"Yeah."

Kurt slowly shook his head, almost unbelieving how casual Blaine was being about this. The people who lived in here lived a more extravagant lifestyle. They were privileged, money never the issue; the only real problem was choosing which car they wanted to drive that day. His boyfriend wore t-shirts and jeans every day, kept his hair messy and un-styled, nothing of what a 'privileged kid' would look like and yet it still somehow made sense that he lived in what was informally known as 'the rich part of Lima'.

He stared at Blaine's profile for a little longer, watching him as they drove through the neighborhood. He pulled into the driveway of what could be considered a miniature mansion, looking curiously at the cab sitting in front of his house.

He pulled the key out of the ignition and quickly turned to Kurt,

"Wait here."

"What? Blaine what are you doin-"

Kurt watched, smiling, as Blaine eagerly ran around to his side of the car, opening the door for him before he had the chance to do it himself, and excitedly held out a hand for him.

Kurt took it as he stepped out of the car, their clasped hands swinging back and forth as they walked towards the house.

Suddenly the front door swung wide open and the couple immediately stopped walking.

"What the-"

A bubble headed blonde stumbled out and tripped over the doorstep. She was wearing one silver stiletto, the other swinging loosely from her fingers as she giggled loudly. A cheetah print bra strap peeked out from behind the sluttiest and trashiest hot pink mini dress Kurt had ever seen in his life.

Kurt turned to Blaine, a horrified look on his face.

"Wh- Who is she?"

He slowly shook his head, unable to force any words out of his mouth.

She stumbled another step or two, a ditzy little "Whoa!" and a drunken hiccup escaping from her overly glossed mouth.

It was like watching a terrible train wreck that they wanted so hard to look away from. Kurt was about to say something about her repulsing outfit when a man appeared at the door.

Kurt was mesmerized.

He leaned up against the frame, shirtless and chiseled with a t-shirt carelessly tossed over his shoulder, exuding sexiness with every breath he took. His hair looked effortlessly styled, falling in just the right way without even trying. His captivating, clear cerulean eyes were sparkling as the light hit them; also making his cheek and jaw bones look even more stunning.

"I-is that…"

"Yep."

Blaine's response was unenthusiastic; he was _far_ too used to people melting in the presence of his older brother, who was now holding out a well sculpted arm, dangling what looked like a lacey pink thong.

"Hey, Stacy! Did you forget something?"

The blonde turned around on her heel, head of messy curls swinging to the side as she tilted her head. A genuine look of remembrance spread across her ridiculously tan face.

"Ohmygod. I totally forgot. Thanks."

She grabbed the thong, giggling all the while and began to put it back on, flashing not only Kurt and Blaine, but probably the rest of the neighborhood as well.

"Oh god!"

Both of them shielded their eyes from the horrific sight in front of them. Cooper just laughed, waving a hand as the cab drove off.

"Bye Stacy!"

Blaine shook his head, dragging Kurt, who was once again awestruck by Cooper's abs, as he walked towards the front door; shouting towards his brother.

"Classy Coop. Real classy."

Cooper shrugged, an impossibly charming smile coming over his face and doing the unthinkable; making him look even more heartbreakingly gorgeous than he already was. Kurt could feel his brain turn to mush, almost positive that he just lost about fifty IQ points.

"I do what I can."

Cooper winked and Blaine raised a skeptical, yet somewhat amused eyebrow.

"You couldn't put on a shirt?"

The extremely attractive man pointed a finger at Blaine.

"You only told me to put on _pants._"

Blaine absentmindedly slid an arm around Kurt's waist and Kurt immediately leaned into him.

"At least you called her a cab."

Copper scoffed, his confident personality taking over.

"Please. I _always_ call them a cab."

An almost unnoticeable whimper escaped Kurt's lips and Cooper turned his piercing gaze on him.

"Oh is this your boyfriend?"

Blaine held on to him tighter, though it was only to keep Kurt from falling.

"Uh, yep. This is Kurt. Kurt this is my brother Coo-"

"Cooper. Cooper Anderson."

He held out a hand for a handshake but Kurt just tilted his head to the side, mouth opening slightly as he stared at the beautiful man's perfect smile.

Cooper grinned a bit wider at Kurt's reaction as he waved the pair inside, Blaine nudging Kurt with his hip to get him moving again.

"So what's for dinner?"

Not knowing what would come out of Kurt's mouth if given the chance, Blaine quickly spoke up.

"Uh, not sure. Kurt picked out all the stuff at the store."

Cooper nodded, clapping Blaine on the arm.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go freshen up. I'm a little,"

He paused to look directly at Kurt.

"…sweaty."

Cooper turned and left the room, chuckling to himself as he heard yet another whimper escape from Kurt followed by a, "C'mon! Really, Coop?" from Blaine.

Kurt took a deep breath, standing up straight and smoothing out his clothes.

"No, no. I'm fine."

Blaine rolled his eyes and smiled, giving Kurt a kiss on the cheek,

"Mhmm, of course you are."

Kurt looked around the house for the first time, finally noticing the décor now that he wasn't so distracted.

The colors were a muted, refined palate, expertly chosen; whoever had decorated the room had lavish taste. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, a hand painted family portrait was right above the fireplace. The furniture looked as if it was antique, but very well maintained; classy and refined. Everything looked neat, clean and expensive. There was an enormous dining room large enough for twenty five, but everything was covered in plastic; as if the room was only used for very special occasions. The whole affect was akin to that of an upscale museum rather than a home. Very cold and distant, a bit unwelcoming and standoffish, but all the same it was very captivating.

Kurt spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"It's very…tasteful."

Blaine gently squeezed Kurt's hip where his hand was resting,

"Let's go get started on dinner."

Blaine led him down a short hall into the kitchen and Kurt's jaw dropped.

It was gigantic; long marble countertops, shiny stainless steel appliances and a massive island sitting in the middle with chairs on one side. The cabinetry looked spectacular and organized; there was even a small chandelier hanging above the island.

Blaine ran outside to grab the groceries and Kurt began exploring the kitchen, looking through drawers, running his hands along the smooth countertops; he was in cooking heaven.

Kurt clasped his hands together in excitement when Blaine came back in with all of the cooking supplies.

"Your kitchen…is _amazing_!"

Blaine grinned and began taking food out of the bags.

"Yeah, well, my mom is kind of a cooking fanatic."

Kurt practically skipped over to him, taking both of Blaine's hands into his own.

"Okay, so tonight we are making grilled chicken and pesto farfalle."

Blaine nodded like he knew what Kurt was talking about.

"Oh, yeah, that. Of course."

Kurt rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his mouth as he pointed to the package of chicken.

"Just go grill the chicken with some salt and pepper."

"Can do."

Blaine gave him a silly little two fingered salute before grabbing the package and pulling out a pan.

"You goof."

Kurt giggled at him and began getting everything he needed for the pesto pasta.

They fell into an easy rhythm, standing next to each other at the stove, adding this or stirring that, Kurt humming softly underneath his breath as the pair of them swayed back and forth, their hips in sync as they cooked. Blaine finished with the chicken, taking a step back as he leaned against the island, watching as Kurt finished with the pesto, adding a pinch of salt and then pouring it over the farfalle. Just as he turned off the last burners, he felt Blaine come up behind him and place his hands on his hips. Kurt smiled at the touch, still stirring the pasta.

Blaine had wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist now, and he could feel Blaine's breath coming in soft puffs against his neck as he spoke.

"Smells great."

"Thank you."

Kurt speared a piece of pasta with his fork and turned around in Blaine's arms, holding the fork up to his mouth.

"Here, try some. Be careful though, it's hot."

Blaine licked his lips and then gently blew on the bit of pasta, staring Kurt directly in the eyes as he did so. He grinned, a glint of mischief in his eyes as he ate the piece of pasta, licking the fork clean to make sure he got every last bit of the pesto.

"It's really good-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence before Kurt was kissing him, taking a few steps forward until Blaine was pressed against the island. Kurt's arms wrapped around his neck, Blaine's tongue slowly making its way into his mouth; he tasted so good, the flavor of pesto still on his lips, but it wasn't just the pesto that made Kurt so…eager, it was the taste of Blaine intertwined with it. Kurt pulled closer so that Blaine's body tight against his. A soft moan slipped from Blaine's lips, liking Kurt's sudden aggression. His hands gripped Kurt's hips and his mouth started to trail downwards when a loud holler rang out.

"GET IT!"

Kurt immediately flushed a rosy shade of pink and untangled himself from Blaine, turning and pouring the pasta into a bowl to hide his blush and the small lick of his lips. Blaine glared at his brother with all the hate he could muster, slowly shaking his head.

"Really? _Really_? That was necessary?"

But Cooper just gave him an exaggerated wink and two thumbs up. With one last sneer, Blaine turned away from him and began setting out plates and silverware on the island, Kurt placing the bowl of pasta and chicken down right next to them. Cooper immediately sat down, Blaine taking the seat next to Kurt on the far side.

Cooper served himself, passed the bowl to Blaine, and then looked over to Kurt – who was still a bit flustered.

"Grilled chicken and pesto farfalle, right?"

Kurt leaned forwards, an astonished look on his face.

"Um, yeah, it is."

Cooper's face lit up, proud of himself for knowing.

"I can _taste _the fresh garlic!"

Blaine paused mid-serve to slowly turn his head and gape at Cooper, an extremely confused look on his face.

"Since when do you know what pesto far- far-"

Kurt finished for him,

"Farfalle."

"Yeah. Since when do you know what f-… _that_ is, let alone whether the garlic is fresh or not?"

Cooper shrugged, a cocky smile playing on his lips as he took a bite of food.

"I like to cook."

Blaine raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

"Really?"

Cooper grinned roguishly

"The ladies love it."

Blaine nodded, finally getting the punch line he had been waiting for.

"There is it."

Dinner continued on like that for a while, Kurt getting more and more comfortable, Blaine continuously trying to keep Cooper in line; his mischievous and quite debonair attitude seeming to be the height of every conversation. They talked about everything, from football to fashion. It was amazing for Kurt, seeing Blaine just being himself. And Cooper was just…captivating. The three of them got along so well, all quick witted and fully engaged in what was being discussed. Kurt wasn't even sure how they got on the topic of show choir, but before he knew it he was talking about Rachel's insane need for solos and Mr. Shuester's too-nice attitude. He had just mentioned their win at Sectionals when Cooper spoke up.

"No kidding!"

Kurt nodded, a proud smile on his face.

"Yeah. We beat the Warblers, well, _they_ did. I wasn't there for it."

Cooper looked extremely impressed.

"The Warblers? Really? Wow. I bet they would've won if Blaine had been there."

Blaine shot his brother a threatening glance, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Cooper..."

He shrugged,

"What? I'm serious."

He turned to Kurt, giving an explanation for what he was talking about.

"I'm a Dalton boy. Blainers used to visit me all the time and sneak into the rehearsals when he was younger. He loved it."

Kurt immediately turned to Blaine, who was currently avoiding any and all eye contact with him.

"Wait. I thought you said you can't sing."

Cooper spoke with an unbelieving tone.

"Blaine? Can't sing?"

He laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

"Are you kidding? Blaine's _almost_ as good as I was. We used to have sing-offs all the time when we were kids."

Blaine seemed almost offended at what Cooper had said.

"Used to?"

Kurt latched himself onto Blaine's arm, like a small child begging his mom for a lollypop.

"Can I hear you? Please?"

He looked down at Kurt, trying to act like he had a choice in the matter, but he knew, deep down, that Kurt would eventually get his way – especially when he stared up at Blaine with those big, beautiful eyes.

"I don't know. I haven't sung in a while."

Cooper jumped in.

"You were nailing that Maroon 5 song yesterday."

Blaine shot Cooper a 'stop it' glare, and Kurt wiggled in his seat excitedly.

"Which one?"

Blaine waved a hand in the air.

"Nothing. Cooper's just-"

"Sunday Morning."

Cooper grinned, glad to have efficiently dug Blaine into a hole that he could not get out of.

Kurt held tighter onto Blaine's arm, becoming really giddy now that he was going to have a chance to hear him sing.

"I love that song! Please sing it? Pleeeeaaasssseee?"

Blaine took one last look at Kurt's eyes and sighed, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Fine."

Kurt sat up straight and folded his hands in his lap, staring Blaine with a gigantic smile on his face.

With a quick glare at Cooper and a nervous glance at Kurt, he took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and then began to sing.

Blaine's notes were pure and clear as he belted out the chorus of the song, using all of the power in his throat to produce a rich, soothing sound, his voice filling the room with music. Kurt was practically swooning, and his smile growing brighter and brighter with every word. He watched Blaine as he sang, his face containing a look of pure joy. Blaine just looked so _comfortable _when he sang, so in his element, so at home.

The moment that the chorus was over silence replaced what had been previously filled with sound. Blaine's eyes blinked open and he looked over to Kurt with an uneasy smile, hoping for his approval.

"That was amazing!"

Kurt gushed and began clapping excitedly before cuddling up to a blushing, grinning Blaine.

"Yup, I definitely got the better Anderson."

Kurt glanced over at Cooper.

"No offense."

"None taken."

Cooper gave him a warm smile, genuinely glad that Blaine had found someone to make him this happy.

There was a small buzzing noise and Cooper reached into his pocket to grab his phone, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kurt turned back to Blaine, smiling when they intertwined their fingers and began whispering sweet nothings to each other.

But then Cooper saw the text and the smile fell from his face.

"Shit."

Both boys heard the tone of Cooper's voice and they immediately fell silent, Blaine whipping his head around to see what the problem was.

"What?"

Cooper looked him straight in the eye, the importance of his statement being lost on Kurt.

"It's dad. He'll be home in ten minutes."

"Crap! Here I'll-"

Blaine shot up from his seat, immediately reaching out to grab his and Kurt's now empty plates. Cooper placed a hand on Blaine's arm, his voice losing all of its charm and becoming very serious.

"No. You gotta get Kurt home. Now."

The worry in Blaine's eyes was unmistakable.

"But the mess. I can't leave you with it-"

His older brother was calm, taking a plate from Blaine's hand.

"I can handle it. Take Kurt home."

Blaine looked up at his brother, staring at him for a second before nodding and turning to Kurt.

"C'mon, we have to go."

Kurt was silent and a bit shocked by what had happened. He just stood up and Blaine clasped their hands together, Cooper patting him on the shoulder as they passed by and left the room.

"Nice meeting you, Kurt."

* * *

There was an odd tension during the drive home; the sound of raindrops pattering on metal was the only thing stopping the car ride from falling completely silent. Blaine's eyes were focused on the road, but his thoughts seemed elsewhere. Kurt stared at him, not too sure what to say. He mind was burning with curiosity and confusion, still a bit flustered by the abrupt ending to their dinner.

He bit down on his lip, finally mustering up the courage to say what had been circling around in his head.

"Blaine?"

"Hmm?"

Kurt's voice was quiet, barely audible over the rain, but it still rang clear in Blaine's ears.

"Why don't you want me to meet your dad?"

Blaine slammed on the breaks, just barely making the red light. Kurt was incredibly thankful for the absence of cars, even more so when Blaine decided to make a sharp right into an empty parking lot. Kurt let out an uneasy breath as Blaine parked the car, unsure of what to expect. He knew he had hit a sore spot.

Blaine took the keys out of the ignition and the car went dark. He stared at his hands sitting in his lap, just thinking of the right words to say. He had wanted so much to avoid this conversation.

"I-I don't wanna ruin our night."

Kurt turned towards him, examining his profile as he spoke; the rain tapping out a pattern on the car.

"Blaine, I really don't like it when you hide things from me."

He took a deep breath, exhaling as he ran his fingers through his messy curls.

"Kurt, you're relationship with your dad is…remarkable. You're love for each other is just…not all families have that and it's a beautiful thing."

Kurt reached out and took one of Blaine's hands in his own.

"Blaine, I get that not all dads are as accepting as mine. But you can't hide this just because you're afraid of how your dad will act."

The rain began to fall harder, now pounding on windows and making it so you couldn't see more than five feet in front of you.

"It's not that."

Blaine looked up at Kurt for a second, only to turn back to stare at the rain, all the while feeling the warmth of Kurt's hand in his own.

"My dad's very…reserved. He doesn't really…when I came out to him, he-he didn't really have a reaction, we just went on all these 'bonding' escapades. Rebuilt a car, went fishing, golfing, all this crazy stuff. He even tried to get me into woodworking."

Blaine let out a small chuckle. He spoke as if this was nothing, as if it wasn't something he thought about every day, as if this hadn't affected him at all. But it had– more than anyone would ever know; all those talks with Cooper just made him good at not showing it.

"When everything started happening at school, I'd come home _covered_ in cuts and bruises. My dad didn't even look down from the paper. He-…Coop must have begged him a thousand times to transfer me to Dalton, they had a 'zero tolerance no bullying policy', but he wouldn't budge. Said there was 'no way in _Hell_' he'd send me to an all boys school…You know, he'll never admit to it, _ever_, but Coop and I think the only reason he kept me in that school was to toughen me out, make me straight. He's a business man, very strategic and cryptic, always has some sort of ulterior motive."

Blaine looked down at their hands, up at Kurt, then back out into the rain.

"He's…he's just not the kind of person I want you to meet."

Kurt brought his hand up to Blaine's face.

"Blaine…"

He took hold of the hand on his cheek, resting there for a second before letting go of both of Kurt's hands and putting his key back into the ignition.

"Look, it's cool. You know, whatever."

Kurt looked at Blaine, and he could feel his heart breaking as he stared at him and saw the unspoken pain buried deep beneath the surface. Kurt had always taken his relationship with his father for granted, but Blaine, he must have felt so alone. Even if he had Cooper, he didn't have his father, his dad. Kurt couldn't even imagine what his life would be like if he didn't have his dad fighting with him.

The rest of the ride home was driven in near silence; they had pulled up to a stoplight when Blaine spoke, his voice so soft Kurt almost missed it.

"I think that…he thought life would be a lot easier for him…if I was straight."


	18. Chapter 18

**OH MY GOODNESS! We finally posted!**

**We're so so SO sorry for the unexpected two week hiatus. We kinda hit a dry spot for a bit and couldn't figure out what to write and kept getting uninspired and college got in the way and then that freaking Break Up episode aired and all feelings went to high hell and yeah. Still, no excuse. We really hope this chapter makes up for our absence and we'll try not to do that to you guys again.**

**Anyways, enjoy and thank you so much for reading :)**

* * *

Chapter 18

"…and then he just walked out and nobody heard from him for the rest of the night."

Tina's jaw dropped.

"He didn't tell anyone where he was going? Just left the party, just like that?"

Mercedes nodded slowly, smiling confidently about her gossip.

Tina shook her head in disbelief then turned to Kurt and began prodding him with her pencil.

"Hey, Kurt. Kurt! Were you listening?"

He snapped his head towards the two girls who were now staring at him expectantly.

"What? Oh, um yeah. The party, sure."

They could have been showing Kurt the unseen designs from Marc Jacobs's new collection and he wouldn't have been able to focus. For the last half an hour or so, the three of them had been sitting at a table in the library, 'studying', which was really just them swapping the latest gossip.

Tina and Mercedes' voices droned on, each little rumor blending with the next one. And it didn't help that Kurt was so distracted. His eyes dreamily drifted back to a far off table that held Blaine and Quinn; both of them _desperately_attempting a tutoring session for Brittany that was _clearly_ failing.

"I was pretty sure _Julius Caesar_ was just about a really mean salad."

Kurt couldn't help but smile at Brittany's comment, her bright voice carrying all the way across the room. He watched as Quinn's head tilted to the side a bit, just staring at Brittany while Blaine did his best to stay hopeful. Kurt watched his every move, longing to at least be able to _talk_ to him.

Ever since the rumors had started to spread, they had been spending less and less time together during school. Blaine needed to be safe, and they both knew that this was for the best. But it all just seemed so…_unfair_.

Just a few weeks ago they were laughing with each other like best friends, holding hands when they knew no one was looking, subliminally flirting through conversation. Keeping their whole 'thing' a secret had kind of been _exciting_.

But now, now it was almost torture.

Now he had to wait for small, spare moments of complete alone time to even be in arms distance of him. And even when they were together, Blaine seemed so tense and stressed. And Kurt just wanted everything to stop; stop and go back to that stupid snow covered carriage where they could just be Kurt and Blaine and not have to worry anymore.

The worst part was having _no one_ to talk to about it. To keep every single thing bottled up inside and-

"Kurt? Kurt…..KURT!"

He snapped out of his daze when he heard his name being called for probably the fiftieth time, lethargically turning his head over to face his friends.

"Were you saying something?"

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at Tina and she just rolled her eyes.

"Have you been listening at _all_?"

Kurt's gaze unintentionally drifted back towards Blaine, not even focusing on what he was saying.

"Oh, yeah sure. Of course, heard every word."

Mercedes held out a hand, snapping her fingers right in front of Kurt's face to get his attention.

"Kurt, eyes over here."

He took a deep breath and forced himself to turn his whole body towards them, plastering a happy smile on his face.

"Sorry, what were you saying again?"

But Mercedes didn't fall for that smile; she never did.

"Something up with your new boo?"

Kurt's eyes widened a bit and Tina perked up in interest.

"New boo?"

"Kurt has a mysterious new boyfriend."

Mercedes smiled deliciously as she spoke to Tina, and the cute little Asian was unable to hide her excitement when she turned to Kurt.

"Wait! Seriously?"

Kurt propped his elbow on the table and slumped his head down to rest in his hand, staring at Tina with all of the boredom he could manage.

"What? You didn't know? I was pretty sure Mercedes and Rachel got their own talk show just so they could broadcast it to the whole damn world."

Mercedes chuckled briefly, her laughing telling Kurt just how funny he _wasn't._ Kurt rolled his eyes and went back down to the page of math homework sitting in front of him, glaring at the thirty problems he still had yet to do.

"And we're fine. I just haven't had much sleep lately."

Tina shot a look at Mercedes as she raised an eyebrow, the both of them immediately jumping to very dirty conclusions.

Kurt caught their expressions and his head shot up out of his hand.

"Oh my god! Not like that! You two are disgusting!"

Mercedes flaunted a smug grin, responding with a rather suggestive,

"Mmmhmm."

Tina giggled for a second, enjoying the flush that spread over Kurt's cheeks. She was still smiling when she glanced down at her watch, and then turned to Mercedes when she saw the time.

"Wanna go get some coffee? I feel like I'm gonna crash."

Mercedes nodded and the both of them began to pack up their bags.

"Sounds good to me."

She stood and then looked back down to Kurt, who had yet to move from his spot on at the table.

"You wanna come with, Kurt?"

"I have cheer practice in twenty minutes. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Tina frowned a bit as she slung her bag over her shoulder and leaned down to give Kurt a quick hug.

"Alright, well, have fun."

Mercedes smirked and lightly bumped Kurt with her hip.

"But not _too_ much fun."

Kurt's face scrunched up at the contact and he drew back from Mercedes, shooting one last dirty look in her direction before they walked out and left him to his own devices. Kurt picked up his pencil and once again glared down at his math work.

_Why are there so many letters in this? This is math. Not English._

He tried his hardest to throw all his energy into his current hatred of calculus, but it was no use. He found himself, once again, looking in Blaine's direction. Only this time, his line of sight was interrupted by two Cheerio uniforms as a couple of giddy girls began to flirt with _his_ boyfriend.

_So I guess the rumors haven't changed everyone's minds._

He watched as Blaine flirted back, the football player seeming so at ease with all of the attention. It was almost endearing, he was so good at acting straight. The way held his posture, so relaxed yet captivating; the way his eyes traveled, knowing exactly where to look and when; the way his perfect smile seemed to grown brighter and brighter with every second. He was loving every bit of it.

So were the girls; the pair of them giggling loudly and hanging on to Blaine's every word. Touching the sleeves of his Letterman jacket, twirling their fingers around his loose curls as he practically _basked_ in the random affection.

And Kurt felt…jealous. He had no idea why, they were _girls _after all, it's not like anything would come of it; Blaine was just keeping up with his reputation.

_Right?_

But his jealously fizzled out when the two Cheerios finally walked away. Blaine briefly made eye contact with him; a light, beautiful smile growing on his face as he did.

It was the smile he showed only to Kurt.

_How are you that adorable? Just, how?_

Quinn tapped Blaine on the shoulder, making him break eye contact with Kurt to quickly go back to his failed tutoring session.

Quinn was gesturing to Brittany's book and Kurt watched as Blaine took the novel and flipped it right side up. Quinn took a deep breath and shook her head, the three of them officially deciding to call it quits. They trio packed up their stuff and began to head out of the library, passing right by Kurt as they did so.

"Hey, Blaine."

Kurt smiled up at him, only to receive a tiny nod of acknowledgement.

He felt his heart sink. He knew he shouldn't have been so disappointed. After all, there were still rumors floating around and even though the girls didn't seem to care, Blaine couldn't risk it. His head told him not to think much of it, but his heart seemed to ignore all logic; it broke a little more with each step Blaine took.

Kurt watched as they left the room, his attention being called back to the table only when Karofsky slid into the seat across from him.

"What's wrong Hummel? Is Ryan Seacrest over there not letting you be on bottom?"

Kurt's jaw clenched and he refused to make eye contact, keeping his gaze firmly on his work.

"I am _really_ not in the mood for your crap, David."

Karofsky leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest, a smug smile making its way onto his face.

"Well, damn Hummel, you've really got something up your ass today."

When the only response from Kurt was silence and a tighter grip on his pencil, David continued on.

"Or is that just your boyfriend up your ass?"

Kurt slammed his pencil down and glared at Karofsky with all of the hate he could muster.

"Would you mind shutting up and leaving me alone?"

Karofsky held up his hands; that damn smirk still on his face as he spoke.

"Fine. Just saying, he hardly seems worth all the trouble he's causing you."

Karofsky began to get up out of the seat, and Kurt watched him, suddenly realizing something as he did so.

This was the one other person who knew about him and Blaine.

The one person who, even though Kurt hated him, if he said anything it wouldn't add to the rumors, it wouldn't do any harm. Kurt was at his breaking point and if he didn't talk to _someone_ soon he would go insane.

So he just started talking. He let himself forget that it was Karofsky he was telling all of this to, and he opened up.

"I know. But…he's a great boyfriend. He _really_ is. It's just…I don't know. I really miss being around him. I don't get why we can't at least act like friends. I mean, I'm friends with Puck and Sam and Mike and Artie, granted I'm in Glee with them but still."

Kurt kept talking, not even noticing when Karofsky stood still to listen.

"I'm just so tired of everyone being able to be around him but me and…"

Kurt found himself abruptly out of words as he looked up at the motionless jock standing across the table from him.

"And why am I even talking to _you_ about this? You're the whole reason I _can't_ be with him."

Kurt looked almost disgusted as he began to put his folders back into his bag, Karofsky just standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know. I have better things to do than listen to you complain about your ridiculous boyfriend problems anyways."

Kurt stood; his bag in hand and his voice full of daggers as he glared at Karofsky.

"Then why did you even ask in the first place?"

Karofsky had no answer, at least not one he could say out loud, and he was silent as Kurt waited for him to speak.

The cheerleader soon got tired of his question being unacknowledged and he glanced up at the clock.

"I'm gonna be late for practice."

Without another word, Kurt turned on his heel and left Karofsky standing alone in the library.

* * *

It had been a few days since the rumors began and Blaine had never felt more alone. His friends had barely talked to him and a lot of people seemed to avoid him in the hallways. And now, in the minutes before football practice, the division was clear.

It felt like there were two groups in the locker room, there was Blaine, and then there was rest of the team. There was almost a dead silence, only a few conversations going on, nobody speaking above a loud whisper.

Finn, Sam and the rest of the Glee guys entered the locker room, very boisterous and noisy, not realizing they had just stumbled into near silence. But it didn't matter, their loud attitudes were lightening the mood a bit and some of the tension just slipped out of the room. They made their way over to their lockers next to Blaine, joking around like nothing was going on.

Everyone seemed a bit more relaxed as they began to change for practice and Blaine was about to pull off his shirt he heard Karofsky's intrusive voice.

"Shouldn't you be changing in the _girl's_ locker room?"

Blaine paused, his hand leaving the hem of his shirt, and slowly turned around to meet Karofsky's eyes.

"Excuse me?"

All of the previous tension flooded back into room, the guys' carefree attitudes suddenly waning. Karofsky took a step forwards, his whole demeanor making it seem like he was offended at Blaine's presence.

"I don't want you standing in here staring at my junk. None of us guys do. So get the hell out."

Blaine didn't have a response for that; he was too shocked to get his brain to function. No one had actually said anything like that to his _face_ before. Finn quickly turned around when he noticed and walked a few steps towards Karofsky.

"Hey man, do you ever let up?"

David just scoffed in his face and turned to Blaine.

"Oh Blaine! I didn't realize you brought mommy along. Does she always have to fight your battles for you?"

Puck strode right up to stand directly in front of Karofsky.

"I don't see you fighting yours alone either. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever even seen you _fight_. Just get the crap kicked out of you."

The rest of the guys in the locker room seemed to laugh, all of them a bit surprised that someone would actually call Karofsky out like that. So David just laughed along with them, brushing off the comment as he walked back to his locker, tail between his legs.

"Whatever."

Sensing that the worst was over, the rest of the team dispersed and Finn and Puck headed back over to their lockers.

Finn immediately turned to Blaine, trying to apologize for just jumping in like that.

"Hey man, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-"

Blaine shook his head.

"No. Thanks. It's nice to have _someone_ on my side."

Mike came up, giving Blaine a pat on the shoulder.

"Dude, we got your back."

Sam turned his head a bit and almost shouted back at Blaine, causing him to cringe a bit as he spoke.

"Yeah. We know you're not gay. If you were that'd be a little weird 'cause, you know, we've all changed in front of each other."

Finn rolled his eyes at Sam's loud volume, but turned to Blaine to give him a friendly punch on the arm.

"Yeah, man. Besides, me and Kurt are really close. So, if anything was going on between you two, I would know."

Blaine used all of his mental strength to suppress his laughter; his mind barely able to handle the irony of that statement.

Finn just smiled that dopey smile of his before going back to getting changed, him and the rest of the guys completely comfortable now that Blaine's sexuality was 'confirmed'.

And Blaine smiled too, because he was supposed to. Because now he knew his friends were okay with whom they _thought_ he was. They were completely comfortable with this lie that they knew nothing about.

So Blaine should have been happy, because this was exactly what he had wanted; exactly what he had longed for since he came here. But somehow, none of that made him feel any better. After all, he couldn't keep this up forever.

* * *

Kurt: Hey there stranger. :)

Blaine: hi

Kurt: Have I ever told you how adorable you are?

Blaine: yep

Kurt: Is something wrong?

Blaine: no

Kurt: Blaine…

Blaine: ppl know we text. I can't risk it.

Kurt: Right. Sorry. :/

I just really miss you.

Blaine: Miss u too. I just can't right now. Sorry.

Kurt: Don't apologize. It's fine. I understand. I'll talk to you later. :)

Blaine: You're the best boyfriend ever, you know that?

* * *

Kurt walked down the hallway, his solemn attitude in high contrast with the two girls giggling behind him. Rachel finally took notice to the same gloomy demeanor Mercedes had been putting up with since yesterday.

"Oh come on, Kurt! That was hilarious! Lighten up."

Kurt hurried onwards, not even bothering to turn his head when he shouted back to Rachel.

"You over estimate your own humor, Rachel. And besides, I'm really not in the mood."

She caught up with him, nearly skipping as she did so, and linked her arm in his.

"What's wrong?"

Before Kurt had the chance to radiate anymore gloom, Mercedes was there on the other side of Kurt, looping his free arm with hers.

"Issues with his Mystery Man."

Kurt let out his thousandth exasperated sigh since yesterday.

"For the tenth time, Mercedes, I'm not having issues with this so called 'Mystery Man'."

The pair of them unlinked their arms as Kurt began opening his locker. Rachel leaned up against the one next to his, trying to phrase her question as nice as she possibly could.

"So, not to be pessimistic or anything, but if you two break up, will you tell us who he is?"

Kurt looked at her, his face full of shock. But he pulled himself together soon enough and turned back to his locker.

"Oh my god. Guys. There is nothing going on between me and this stupid-"

Kurt yanked open the little door, his voice falling flat when he saw its contents.

A single perfect red rose drifted to the ground, a small note attached to it by a shiny satin ribbon.

Kurt's words were practically a breath as he bent down to pick up the flower.

"…Mystery Man."

Kurt unfolded the note, quietly reading the poem inside it, written in Blaine's signature swift but legible pen strokes.

_I'll never find the words,_

_To say how much I miss,_

_Your sweet and gentle touch,_

_Your loving, tender kiss._

_Smiles from a distance,_

_Fleeting glances from afar_

_Just don't seem like enough,_

_When you're worth so much more._

_I know the road looks harsh,_

_But we will make it through,_

'_Cause you were meant for me,_

_And I was meant for you._

The girls had been standing there, a bit confused as to what was going on, but as they watched Kurt's face slowly light up and a blush spread across he cheeks, they knew who it was from.

Rachel was the first to react, jumping up and down and clapping like a maniac before excitedly reaching for the note, her tiny hands grasping at thin air as he held the note just out of arm's length.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! It's from him! Let me read it! Let me read it!"

Mercedes became just as excited, trying to grab the note from Kurt's hands while he tried to keep it away from Rachel.

"Give it to me, Kurt! Now! What did he say!?"

Kurt used all of his strength to shove the two girls off him to avoid being mauled to death.

"Guys! Stop! You're gonna destroy it."

The smile that had been on his face grew a bit wider as he watched the two girls pout, almost enjoying how invested they were in this little mystery.

"I've gotta go. I'll see you crazies later."

He flashed one last grin and shut his locker before turning and walking back down the hall, laughing a bit when he heard Rachel shout from behind him.

"You can't hide this from us forever, Kurt!"

He just walked on, burying his nose in the sweet scent of the flower. His eyes lightly swept to the side, taking notice of Blaine leaning up against some lockers. Some ditzy cheerleader stood next to him, twirling her high pony around her finger.

The bored smile on Blaine's face seemed to light up as his gaze casually mingled with Kurt's. His eyes gleamed, as if seeing Kurt brought more joy to his life than anything else could.

His wink was so subtle; Kurt almost swore he imagined it. But the light fluttering of his heart let him know it was real. _This _was real.

And nothing could change that.


	19. Chapter 19

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**Lol, but seriously, thank you guys so much for all your love a support and, of course, for reading. You guys are amazing!**

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Chapter 19

Kurt entered the cafeteria and made a beeline for the Cheerios table. Too excited to see Blaine, he didn't even bother to make small talk with anyone in the room. Kurt took his usual seat at the table, right next to Brittany, pulled a small thing of salad out of his bag and silently cursed himself when he realized he had forgotten a fork.

He glanced up, just in time to smile at Blaine before he turned and took a seat at the jocks table; further away from Kurt than usual.

_It's for the best, right?_

Kurt felt a bit snubbed, but he just shook it off, turning his attention to the current lack of eating utensils at his disposal.

After deciding that getting up to go actually grab a fork from the lunch line would take _far_ too much effort he tried to find one currently not in use, immediately spotting a pristine plastic fork sitting right next to Blaine's lunch tray.

"Blaine. Hey, Blaine."

He looked over at Kurt, a slight smile coming over his face at the sound of Kurt's voice.

"Can I use your fork? I forgot mine."

Blaine's face scrunched a bit and all he got out was a small,

"Uhh, I-"

Before Puck had smacked him on the arm to get him back in the conversation. A scowl came over Kurt's face and he took a deep breath.

"Blaine."

His head whipped around once again and he lifted his eyebrows in question.

"Your fork?"

Blaine mumbled something along the lines of,

"There's more in the lunch line."

And then once again turned to Puck, not even noticing Kurt's,

"But you're not using yours."

Blaine didn't even look back this time, Kurt's question falling on deaf ears.

_Are you freaking kidding me?_

Kurt looked down at the salad, frowning at the leafy greens when he felt Brittany tap him on the shoulder.

"Do you need a fork?"

Kurt looked up and smiled, nodding at the sweet, blonde girl. She reached into her bag and handed Kurt a nice, clean fork.

"I always have an extra fork in my bag just in case I, you know, find a plate of spaghetti or need to comb my hair or something."

Kurt grinned lightly and laughed a little as he said thanks; enjoying the smile that Brittany always seemed to bring him.

He started in on his salad, eating in peace until he overheard Blaine and Puck's conversation.

"Dude, I still can't believe you did that!"

"I was so high; I don't even _remember_ doing that!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and felt his anger bubble up. If hearing about Blaine getting high when it first happened didn't make him upset enough, hearing him gab about it like it was some 'awesome' thing just made him even more irate.

Finn shoved a bite of cheeseburger in his mouth, not even bothering to finish chewing before he spoke.

"Dude, we _need_ to do that again sometime."

Blaine gave a small chuckle, and glanced over at Kurt, who seemed to be completely focused on his salad.

"I would but uh…my uh, my parents found out last time."

Finn nodded a bit, his cheeks still stuffed with food.

"Aw man! Bummer."

Kurt didn't hear Blaine's lie, though. By this point he was staring off into space, absentmindedly throwing sharp stabs into his salad; feeling no mercy as he doled out his rage on the innocent container full of greens. His fork probably would have snapped had Santana not spoken up.

"Hey, uh, Ghostface. Wanna take it a little easy there on the salad?"

Kurt momentarily stopped the vicious murder of his lunch to glare at her. He stood suddenly, quietly murmuring to himself about his loss of appetite before tossing away his half-eaten meal and leaving the cafeteria.

Over the course of the day, his thoughts began to swell.

_I only asked him for a fork, not a kidney._

_It's not like he can't even talk_ _to me, there's nothing wrong with that._

_He's taking this too far._

_And then he has to go and talk about that stuff? He knows how upset I was about that stupid 'escapade' of theirs!_

Everything finally seemed to get a bit better during cheer practice.

Coach Sue hadn't shown up yet, something about getting hyaluronic acid injections, so all of the Cheerios were gossiping away as they started on their own warm-ups.

"And so I see them together and I _know_ they're talking about me."

"Wow. What a slut!"

"I know, right?!"

Kurt turned to her and put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"Hun, you can do better. Besides, that girl has nasty cankles."

"That. Is. Disgusting."

Another girl piped in.

"It's true. I saw them last weekend. She was at the mall and _thought_ she could get away with wearing crocs."

"Ohmygod! Crocs! No way!"

He couldn't hold his comment back, this was too much.

"Dear god! Why would _anyone_ wear those? That's a sin against fashion. So unnatural."

Kurt smiled a bit when he heard a few girls laugh at his comment. Then a freshman stuck her arm out to point at the mass of football players on the field.

"You know what else is unnatural? Him!"

Kurt perked up a bit, immediately glancing out at the boys.

"Who?"

Another girl joined in, sighing a bit when she said his name.

"Blaine."

_You have got to be kidding me._

The second Kurt heard Blaine's name he plunged right back into his sour mood from earlier. He couldn't help but roll his eyes when one of the freshmen began to giggle.

"He talked to me today. _He _talked to _me._ Can you believe it?"

Someone else chimed in.

"Omg, that's nothing. Yesterday I went to get a drink from the water fountain, and when I bent down he accidentally bumped into me!"

A few girls actually began to fan themselves as she continued on.

"No, but that's not all. Then, he said 'Sorry' and I was like, 'It's okay.' And he _smiled _and said, '_Cool_.' He said cool!"

About half of the Cheerios were squealing and Kurt couldn't help but make a snide comment.

"Oh, that's fascinating."

Then a freshman turned to Quinn, practically pleading,

"Don't you think he's cute? He's so cute, right?"

She laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, he's pretty cute."

Santana shrugged, giving her own unique approval.

"I'd sleep with him"

Quinn raised an eyebrow at her.

"Which isn't saying much..."

Kurt snorted a bit, happy to get _some _enjoyment out of this whole fiasco.

But then another Cheerio had some story about how Blaine had 'gazed into my eyes' and how he 'touched my arm', each and every word tipping Kurt closer to the edge.

When some girl explained how they were 'made for each other', Kurt didn't hold back.

"Oh, trust me, honey. You're _not_ his type."

One of the snottier sophomores threw him a fierce glare.

"And how would you know Blaine's type?"

It took Kurt every single _ounce _of self control to keep himself from ripping the girl to shreds right then and there. Luckily, Santana spoke up, eager to get in her own two cents.

"Leave the boy cheer wonder alone. He's just upset because even if Blaine _is_ gay he's totally a power bottom."

Kurt rolled his eyes; it seemed to be becoming a habit.

"Hardly."

"There's no way he's gay. Have you _seen_ the way he looks at me? I bet he's awesome in bed."

Santana laughed a bit at that.

"Oh please, that boy _screams_ virgin."

_Well…she's not wrong…_

"You never know. He's so mysterious. It's so hot. It's amazing no one has snatched him up yet."

Kurt grimaced when he heard that. He dug his thumb nail into the side of his index finger, using all his strength to keep from marking his territory.

"Maybe he's just not the relationship type."

"Ohmygod! That's _so_ hot!"

And then Kurt lost it.

"Oh my god, stop! He's not even that cute!"

All of the girls immediately hushed, the whole group taken aback by his outburst. This was _just _gossip and they had no idea why he was getting so worked up about it.

"I find myself forgetting that Dalmatians exist…"

As if by some movie level coordination, everyone turned their heads at the same time to gape at Brittany, who had been stretching in her own little world, completely oblivious to everything around her. No one had a reply to that statement and no one was really sure what to make of it, so they just stared.

The silence broke to the shrill sound of Sue's loud whistle, her arrival finally calling the girls over to practice and ending what could have been a murderous rampage on Kurt's part.

* * *

Football practice was wrapping up and Blaine couldn't have been happier for it. The last two hours had consisted of Karofsky making annoying comments that Blaine was too distracted to think of a decent reply for; his thoughts completely consumed by Kurt. How much he missed him, how horrible he felt for brushing him off, how much he wanted to just _be _with him.

So when practice ended, Blaine stayed behind, tying and retying his shoes while watching Kurt out of the corner of his eye. Kurt was the last cheerleader out on the field, the rest of the Cheerios having already cleared out as it was his turn to gather up the pom-poms.

Kurt dumped the last arm full of pom-poms into a bucket just as Blaine came up behind him.

"Hey, Kurt I-"

"I have to go change."

He didn't even bother looking at Blaine as he turned and began walking towards the girl's locker room. Blaine's face dropped as he watched Kurt walk away from him, not completely sure exactly how to respond.

"Oh, yeah of course. Are you, um, are you still coming over today?"

Kurt kept moving, tossing a careless

"Sure."

Over his shoulder as he got further and further away.

Blaine had no idea what to do or what to say, he just wanted Kurt to be happy but right now it was obvious that wasn't going to happen. With head hung low, Blaine made his way over to the boy's locker room, stripping off his jersey and pads and leaving his undershirt as he walked so he could get in and out of there as fast as possible.

He entered the room, fully expecting to hear Karofsky shout something at him, yet again, but he never could have guessed what was actually waiting for him inside.

As the door shut behind him, he realized that the room was dead silent. Blaine froze in his tracks when he saw the crowd of football players surrounding his locker.

It felt so surreal, everyone's eyes were on him and he knew, as if almost by animal instinct, that they had done something horrible. Blaine felt the blood rushing in his ears, the tension mounting as everyone stared.

A single voice broke the silence.

"_Fag."_

It was like that one word had opened up the flood gates. Laughter rang out, bouncing off metal and echoing in Blaine's ears. More obscenities were thrown his way, but at this point everything just sounded like thunderous noise.

His pads and jersey fell from his grasp and he began to walk forwards slowly, trying to block out their words, but he couldn't. Blaine felt the beginnings of panic just as he made eye contact with Finn.

"Dude, we're so sorry. We tried to stop him but-"

Blaine just kept pushing through the jocks until he got to his locker. He froze, staring up in horror at what was on display.

His Letterman jacket was strung up against the metal for all to see, hot pink spray paint spelling out 'GAY' across the back.

The laughter got louder as Blaine whipped around, anger etched in every movement, and when he spotted Karofsky leaving with a gigantic, cocky smirk on his face, he felt a new sense of wrath crash through him. He reached out and tore the jacket down, fury overcoming rational thinking.

"You son of a bitch!"

Puck knew what was about to happen and he jumped forwards, grabbing onto Blaine's arms to keep him from attacking Karofsky, but it was no use. Blaine tore himself free and charged towards the jock.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

Blaine hurled the jacket to the floor in between their feet and Karofsky just smiled condescendingly.

"What? You don't like it? I thought you gays _love_ cutting-edge fashion?"

"For crying out loud Karofsky, I'm not gay!"

Karofsky laughed, because he knew Blaine was lying through his teeth. He looked like he was about to say something, but then decided to just smile before beginning to turn away and it pissed Blaine off more than it should have.

"What?!"

Karofsky turned just enough so he could look Blaine straight in the eye.

"Nothing."

It almost felt like a challenge, like he was daring Blaine to do something.

"Would you cut the crap?! I'm sick of this! You have something to say?! Say it to my face!"

Karofsky grinned; it was just what he had wanted to hear. By now the locker room had gone silent, everyone watching the heated exchange. David took the few steps forwards until he was right up in Blaine's face, and he was still smirking slightly, but there was fire behind his eyes. Blaine's face held only pure rage, nothing more as he glared at the jock. You could hear a pin drop, nobody made a sound as they all waited for one of them to snap and throw a punch.

Suddenly Karofsky was laughing and before Blaine even time to react to the sound of the ball shaking in the can of paint, Karofsky had sprayed a bright pink line right across his chest.

A few people cheered, some shouted, others were laughing loudly, but Blaine was in a stunned silence. He wasn't able to do anything as Karofsky simply turned and left the room, the door slamming behind him.

Blaine reached up to his shirt, hand touching the still-wet paint. He blinked, slowly, and took a deep breath.

_This is so not over._

* * *

Kurt pulled into Blaine's driveway and took the key out of the ignition. He sat there, in the silence of his car, beginning to regret coming over. He _should_ have been happy. After all, this was the only time they had to spend together, but he was really beginning to hate being ignored at school. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, he got out of his car and walked up to the door.

_Is it too late to turn around? I mean, I haven't rung the doorbell yet- No, I can't do that to him, I can't just stand him up like that._

Kurt pressed doorbell and immediately decided that he had to tell Blaine how he felt. This needed to be settled, regardless of it ruining their time together. The doorknob turned and Kurt prepared himself to let Blaine have it.

The door opened and before Kurt could even say "We need to talk." Blaine had practically jumped onto him, nearly knocking him over as he pulled Kurt as close as he possibly could. He gave Kurt a quick kiss on the lips and then one on the cheek before pulling him back into the hug, nuzzling his head into Kurt's collar with a contented sigh.

"God I'm so glad you're here, I've missed you so much!"

It took Kurt a few seconds to react to the sudden hug attack, but he finally wrapped his arms around Blaine, his heart involuntarily melting as Blaine's cologne filled his noise.

"I missed you too."

There was a smile in Kurt's voice as he took a few steps forward, walking the pair of them into the house and shutting the door.

Blaine gave him a tight squeeze and another kiss on the cheek before pulling away.

"C'mon! I have a ton of stuff planned!"

Blaine grabbed Kurt by the hand before he had a chance to speak and began to lead him upstairs, talking and glancing back at Kurt with a happy smile on his face.

"This is gonna be so much fun! My parents are at some event out of town and Cooper is out bar hopping, so it's just you and me! We have a movie room and everything, well not really a 'movie room', but it's the old playroom that my parents redecorated with a flat screen and stuff."

They reached the top of the stairs and Blaine turned them down a hall leading to a single door. They entered the room and Blaine launched into another mini monologue.

"Okay, so I know you don't really like junk food so I only bought sugar free candy and for popcorn I actually found my mom's popcorn machine. Did you know not all popcorn is microwaved? Crazy, right? And over here is the couch and we can cuddle and stuff and I brought some blankets and I ran them through the dryer to make sure they were nice and warm and I fluffed up all the pillows and I got Notting Hill. Is that okay? That's okay, right? I love that movie so much."

Kurt smiled and laughed a bit; trying to cover up the fact that he was actually worried for Blaine. He was just _too_ happy, as if he was overcompensating in his cheerfulness to try and hide something else.

"Yeah, Notting Hill is fine."

Blaine looked relieved.

"Okay, awesome."

While Blaine went over to put the movie in, Kurt took a seat on the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. He took a few bites and began to silently gag; the bitter, dried out, over-cooked popcorn filling his taste buds.

Blaine turned around with remote in hand and walked over to the couch.

"How's the popcorn? It was my first time making it that way, but I think it came out pretty good!"

Blaine looked so proud that Kurt couldn't find it in himself to be rude, so he just gave a thumbs up and a painful smile as he gulped it down.

Blaine grinned and then snuggled up next to him, pulling Kurt's arm around his shoulders as he draped the blanket over their laps. He hit play on the movie and Kurt couldn't help but smile at how adorable he was, all cuddled up, so calm and happy. Just content to watch a movie with Kurt, to be there with him, nothing more.

Over the course of the movie though, Kurt began to feel more and more spiteful. Normally he loved these kinds of movies, he _lived _for them, but now, with all of this drama in his own relationship, the movie didn't seem so appealing. And when Blaine began quoting, his lips moving perfectly along with the leading lady as she said,

"_After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."_

Kurt couldn't help but snort and Blaine immediately pawed at him.

"Shut up, this is beautiful."

"Oh please, it's so unrealistic. You don't think things like this _actually _happen, do you?"

Blaine wasn't really paying attention when he replied.

"All the time."

Kurt looked down at his messy mop of curls and the smile on his face, then sighed, because he was about to get rid of that smile. But it had to be done, so Kurt reached over to grab the remote and paused the movie.

"Hey! I was watching that, they were just about to-"

"Blaine."

He sat up straight when he heard the very serious tone of Kurt's voice, suddenly looking worried.

"What?"

"We need to talk."

Blaine's eyes went wide and he looked like a small child, a hand reaching over to play with the fringe on the edge of the blanket.

"O-okay. 'bout what?"

Kurt watched his fingers as they twirled and pulled on the fringe.

"About us. About how you treat me at school."

Blaine's head lowered in guilt as Kurt continued on.

"I know that you're scared and I know that you don't want a repeat of your old school but you can't act like you don't even know me. You're my _boyfriend_, and you won't say more than two words unless we're the only people within a two hundred foot radius."

Blaine looked up at him from underneath dark eyelashes.

"I'm sorry it's just, these rumors, they're everywhere."

Kurt stilled Blaine's fingers as he took hold of his hand.

"I know, but everything's going to be okay, we'll get through this. Just don't make me feel so ignored at school, it's okay if we talk sometimes, or if we text…or if you lend me a fork."

Blaine laughed a bit and smiled.

"I promise that if you ever forget a fork again then I will most definitely give you mine."

Kurt grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, making him smile brightly now that he was forgiven.

"Good to know."

They gazed at each other for a second when Blaine suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable.

"What?"

Blaine seemed almost embarrassed.

"What is it, Blaine?"

"Can…Can we finish the movie now?"

Kurt grinned and rolled his eyes before grabbing the remote to press play and then wrapping an arm around Blaine's waist to pull him closer. He kinda hoped they would address the girl issue but he supposed, for now at least, it was best to just let it go.

Blaine curled up, allowing his head to rest on Kurt's shoulder. He focused all of his thoughts on the movie and just relaxing with Kurt, not daring to think about the words that had been churning in his head or the soiled Letterman jacket shoved in the back of his closet.

None of that mattered, not so long as he had Kurt.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Kurt strolled into the choir room. It had been a long day, but a pleasant one nonetheless.

All of the ladies were huddled in group, shunning the guys so they could have a little girl time. Kurt glanced between the two groups and when he saw Tina throw her head back in laughter, he decided that the girls were probably having more fun.

Kurt sat in an open chair and placed his bag on the ground, but before he could even ask what they were talking about, Quinn turned to him with a knowing smile on her face.

"So…Kurt. You have a boyfriend?"

Any and all excitement Kurt may have held before immediately fell off his face. He turned to Mercedes and Rachel's mischievous smiles, giving them his most annoyed bitch face.

"Seriously?"

The whole group began to giggle, loving the reaction Kurt was giving them. Rachel's distinct voice piped up through the noise, a smile still gleaming on her face.

"Well, since you simply _refuse _to tell us who it is-"

Tina jumped in, eager to help in frustrating Kurt.

"We thought we'd take the liberty of trying to guess and we called in some reinforcements."

Santana and Quinn gave him a devious smile; Brittany was too occupied with her phone to look up. After a few seconds Kurt let out a frustrated sigh.

"God I'm afraid to ask. Alright, what insane theories have you come up with?"

Rachel practically leaped out of her seat as she leaned forward to swiftly start explaining what they had been discussing for the past ten minutes.

"Well, _Santana_ suggested Blaine. But I think we _all _know it isn't him because he and I have _undeniable_ chemistry."

Santana and Kurt rolled their eyes, nearly in sync. Kurt couldn't help to feel a small sense of worry at her guess, but he figured he was over thinking it; Santana was hardly a threat.

Brittany spoke up, her eyes still glued to her extreme game of angry birds.

"I thought it might be Mr. Tickles, the janitor."

She continued looking down at her phone, only glancing up when everyone had been silent for a good thirty seconds or so.

"He was totally checking you out the other day."

They all sat there and stared, unsure what to make of what she said and desperately wanting to block it out of their memories. Kurt just looked disturbed, unable to think of a response as he tried to repress the urge to vomit from the mental image that had just been thrown at him. Santana gave Brittany a small pat on the shoulder and a sad, slightly confused, smile; all of them practically elated when Tina had the good sense to change the subject.

"So, um, do we know him?"

Kurt pursed his lips and then slowly brought his hand up to examine his nails, taking his time before he responded.

"Maybe."

Rachel gasped and her whole entire face lit up.

"I knew it-"

"Maybe not."

Kurt quickly cut her off, laughing a bit when her face scrunched up and she crossed her arms with a pout. The girls continued to chat, throwing more strange conclusions into the mix. Rachel, for once, was silent and deep in thought. Her face suddenly lit up.

"Wait!"

Her hands flew up, signaling everyone to turn their attention to her.

The group went silent and they looked at her, all of them unsure why they were so interested in what Rachel had to say. But, by the look on her face, this _had_ to be good.

With the proper audience built up, she faced Kurt. Her eyes were wide, almost riddled with insanity and Kurt found himself actually terrified.

"Is it…"

She paused. The group leaned in a little closer, staring at her in anticipation. She quickly glanced around, as if saying the name on her mind was some sort of taboo. She turned her gaze back on Kurt, her voice dropping low as she shared her revelation.

"Finn?"

Everyone groaned in unison, all of them knowing that they shouldn't have expected anything less from the one, the only, Rachel Berry.

Mercedes deadpanned; this was definitely a new low point.

"Seriously Rachel?"

Santana leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest, completely astounded.

"I…I have no words."

Tina just shook her head slowly.

"Wow Rachel…just…_wow_."

Then Finn, who up until now had been innocently messing around on the drum set, poked his head up, curious when his name was mentioned.

"Huh?"

Kurt looked over at Finn and found himself at a loss for words.

"I…nothing, Finn."

Kurt waved him away and, with a shrug, he turned back to his drums. Mercedes caught sight of Mr. Schuester entering the room and a devilish smile came over her face.

"It's okay. At least we won't have to wait too long to at least know how Kurt _feels_ about his Mystery Man."

Kurt immediately went stiff, suspicious of what Mercedes was saying as he glanced between her and Mr. Schue.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

But Mercedes just held a smirk, Mr. Schuester's energetic voice calling everyone to attention.

"Alright everybody! Take a seat!"

Kurt, rather nervous, pivoted sharply in his chair to face towards the front of the room, his look of uncertainty growing by the second.

"Regionals is coming up in a couple months, so I want to start preparing you guys. We have a lot of tough competition this year."

Mr. Schuester made his was over to the board, swiftly writing down the beginnings of a word.

"Now I wanted to save this for Valentine's Day, but Mercedes and Rachel insisted I make this week's assignment…"

_Oh god no._

"…Romance!"

Kurt's eyes went wide and he began to slowly shake his head back and forth, desperately trying to convince himself that this wasn't happening.

"So Kurt, I hear you already have something prepared. You wanna start us off?"

Kurt lifted a hand to gesture to himself.

"Me? I…"

He turned around when he heard the sounds of the girls desperately trying to conceal their laughter, throwing a dirty look at them before taking a deep breath and whipping his head back around to face Mr. Schue.

"Sure."

The girls stopped laughing; excited and unbelieving that Kurt was _actually_ going to go through with this.

He stood, smoothed out his shirt and walked silent, calculated steps down to the piano. He kindly asked Brad to leave and then, with a dramatic flourish, took his place at the keys.

One by one, he placed his fingers lightly on the piano, and then snapped his gaze over to the girls.

"I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this song to Rachel and Mercedes."

With one last sneer, Kurt slammed his fingers down on the keys, and thus began the most monotone, passive aggressive rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' the world has ever known.

The girls were practically _dying_ as they tried to conceal their laughter; everyone else in the room left utterly confused as to what was going on as the inside joke flew completely over their heads.

Kurt finished with one last bang on the keys and the girls suddenly burst into a roar of laughter. A few random claps could be heard here and there from the guys as Mr. Schuester stood up from his chair, all of them unsure what to make of the performance.

"That…uh…that was great…Kurt…very...unique."

Kurt stood and swiftly walked back to his seat, showing a slight snarky smile when Tina gave him a thumbs up.

* * *

Blaine was sitting on the center of his bed, picking at the pink paint streaked across his Letterman jacket when his phone lit up with an incoming call. The chorus of Animal began to play and he smiled brightly, the sounds signifying that it was Kurt who was calling.

"Hey!"

Blaine shoved his jacket to the side, the stain momentarily forgotten as he listened to the sound of Kurt's voice.

"_Hey Blaine. How are you?"_

"I'm alright. What's up?"

Kurt laid down on his bed and snuggled up to one of the pillows.

"_Nothing. Just missing you."_

"Aww. You're so sweet. God, I miss you too. Are we still on for our study date tomorrow?"

"_Of course!"_

"Awesome."

"_So, what are you up to?"_

Blaine glanced over at the mix of pink and red.

"Nothing really. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to get paint out of polyester, would you?"

"_Um…hmm….you could try rubbing ice on it? It might make it easier to peel off. Why? What happened?"_

"Nothing. I was stupid the other day and leaned against a wet wall. My Letterman got all messed up."

"_Blaine."_

"Yeah?"

"_I know you well enough to know when you're lying."_

"What? I…"

Blaine paused to take a breath.

"I didn't want to worry you. It's not a big deal."

"_Blaine-"_

"Karofsky's just…he's getting worse. Honestly, I'm not sure how much more I can handle. I…Can we change the subject? Please? How was your day?"

Kurt wanted to say more, but he also didn't want to ruin their conversation so he just moved on, recalling the day's past events.

"_It-it was good."_

He couldn't help but laugh when he remembered the looks on everyone's faces.

"_I actually have a really funny story to tell you."_

"I could use a good laugh. What happened?"

"_Well, I went to glee rehearsal today. Apparently Rachel and Mercedes decided to tell all of the girls about my 'mystery man'. They were having a field day. Then Mr. Schue came in and told us that by special request, via Mercedes and Rachel, this week's assignment is 'Romance'."_

Blaine had a huge smile on his face.

"Oh no!"

"_Oh yes. And it gets worse."_

"How?!"

"_Apparently they told Mr. Schue that I already had a song prepared."_

Blaine was practically dying of laughter when he heard that.

"That's hilarious! What did you sing?"

"_Only the most __passively__ hostile performance of 'You Are My Sunshine' the world has ever had the misfortune to witness, complete with threatening glares and pounding piano notes."_

By this point Blaine was almost in tears he was laughing so hard and Kurt couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"_I'm glad you're so amused."_

"You _have_ to sing that for me one day!"

"_We'll see. I don't think there can be more than one of that performance in a life time."_

Kurt smiled and after a bit their hilarity had died down, the both of them quiet when Blaine spoke up.

"So what would you have sung?"

"_Hmm?"_

"You know, if you were actually going to sing a song about how you feel about me. What would you sing?"

"_Well let's see, there's 'Single Ladies' by Beyoncé…"_

"Kurt."

"_And 'Heartbreaker' by Mariah Carey…"_

"Kuuurt."

"_Oh! 'Rude Boy' by Rihanna!-"_

"Kurt!"

There was a pause as Blaine felt a bit of guilt wash over him and when he spoke again his voice was small.

"Are…are you really that unhappy?"

"_Blaine, if I didn't want to be with you I wouldn't be. I'm just messing around. You're a great boyfriend-"_

"No I'm not."

"_Yes, you are. You're perfect."_

Blaine let out a dull, unconvinced chuckle.

"_I mean it. Our circumstances are just tough. But like you said, we'll get through it. Now no more of this 'bad boyfriend' stuff, okay?"_

"Okay. So what would you sing? _Really?_"

Kurt smiled, a bit curious about the answer now that Blaine asked him.

"I really don't know. I'd have to think about it."

"Fair enough."

Blaine yawned involuntarily and grabbed his comforter, pulling it up to his chin and kicking his Letterman jacket off the bed.

"We should probably get to sleep."

Kurt yawned too and reached for his iPod.

"_Agreed."_

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"_Goodnight, Blaine."_

While Blaine drifted off to sleep, Kurt was busily scrolling through his music and after only a few short hours, Blaine woke up to the sound of his phone ringing once again.

His voice was full of sleep as he blinked at the bright screen in the darkness.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Blaine."_

"Kurt? What time is it?"

Blaine reached over to his alarm clock, trying to decipher the numbers on it.

"_Around two in the morning. But I thought of the song I wanted to sing to you."_

"Right now?"

"_Yes right now."_

"'Kay, hold on."

Blaine pushed himself up into a sitting position and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to wake himself up so he could listen.

"Okay. What is it?"

"'_Til There Was You' from The Music Man, but I'm going with The Beatles version."_

Blaine blinked when he heard the title, still sleepy and unable to think of the song he was talking about. Kurt's nervous breath muffled in his ear and he began to sing. Blaine's face instantly lit up in a smile as he recognized the melody. Kurt's voice was soft and breathy, trying to be loud enough to hear, but not wanting to wake anyone up. Blaine felt his eyes droop, the tender notes soothing him back into his previous slumber. He fought off his urge to just let Kurt serenade him to sleep, not wanting to miss a single second of his song.

Kurt finished singing and as his notes died down Blaine realized that he was wearing the laziest, happiest smile he had ever had on his face.

"That was…beautiful, Kurt. Thank you."

Blaine could almost feel Kurt's warm smile on the other end.

"_Goodnight, Blaine."_

"Sweet Dreams, Kurt."

* * *

The whole football team was in a huddle out on the field, and even with the sun shining high above their heads, there was still a slight nip in the air. Blaine rubbed his hands together once again and shifted his weight back and forth between his feet, eager to get started on the workout.

Beiste made her way over to the group, clip board in hand as she called out to the team.

"Alright boys! That game we've been preppin' for is right around the corner and bearin' down on us like steer in a milk factory."

Excited for the upcoming game, and ignoring the last part of the Coach's sentence, a few of the guys cheered.

"Now we've played _good_ in the past couple months, but in order to beat Jefferson High we gotta be great! I've got a few new plays that we're gonna be practicing today, so I'll be splittin' you up into two teams and I don't want to hear any complaining! Is that clear?"

There were only a couple mumbles in response to her question.

"I said 'is that clear'?!"

"Yes Coach!"

The guys called out, their voices now loud and a bit more enthused. Beiste looked down at her clipboard and began to read off the names of the guys in the first team.

"…Hudson, Duhamel, Anderson, and Karofsky. If I haven't called your name, you're on the other team. Now-"

Karofsky's brutish voice shot out, interrupting her sentence.

"Excuse me, Coach?"

She seemed aggravated at his disruption and practically glared at him, the rest of the team suddenly paying attention to what was going on.

"What is it, Karofsky?"

David glanced over at Blaine, making sure to catch his eye before speaking.

"I'm not _comfortable_ having Blaine on my team."

Beiste took a step forward, astonished by the blatant disrespect and a murmur went out through the crowd.

"Excuse me?!"

Karofsky lifted his arms, gesturing to the rest of the team as he spoke.

"None of us guys are."

Puck nearly leapt forward, not wanting to be lumped in with the rest of the group and a few other guys followed his lead.

"Speak for yourself!"

Karofsky glared at Puck before turning his attention back on Beiste.

"Oh I'm sorry. None us guys except the rest of Blaine's gay brigade!"

Beiste looked directly at Karofsky, unwavering in her decision.

"Anderson is one of the damn best running backs I have, so like it or not he's on the team and he's staying on. However, if you, or any one for that matter, are so _uncomfortable, _then you sure as hell can get your sorry ass out of here!"

The field was dead silent as everyone waited for someone to make a move, but every single person stood still.

"That's what I thought. Now cut the crap. We've got work to do."

The teams split up and headed to their own areas of the field, Finn leading one, Sam leading the other. Finn's group huddled up and he began to explain the play on the clipboard that Beiste had given him.

"And Blaine, you're going to be going straight down the field to-"

"Please, he's so gay he can't even _run _straight"

A couple of the guys laughed at Karofsky's comment but Mike was less than amused.

"Do you ever stop?"

Finn looked over at Karofsky, trying to be a leader, his voice firm and unarguable as he spoke.

"Seriously, man. This has got to stop. We've got a game to win."

Azimio almost seemed angry as he glared over at Blaine.

"Yeah. Like we're gonna win with you pussies on the team!"

A few other guys laughed once again and Finn just clenched his jaw, for once understanding that there was no use in trying to fight back this time. He glanced over at Beiste just as she signaled to the teams and the huddle broke, the group going over to get into formation.

The whistle blew and the scrimmage began, the other team _easily _scoring when Karofsky didn't even bother trying. He seemed unfazed though, not even blinking when Finn glared at him.

"What the hell, man?"

David just shrugged, a smug grin coming over his face as they once again lined up. He glanced over at Blaine and waited for the whistle to blow, the team became a blur of movement; except for Karofsky. He moved slowly, lethargically, watching as the linebacker he was supposed to block plowed into Blaine. The both of them toppled over, Blaine's head smashing against the ground when they fell.

There was shouting as Beiste blew her whistle, the Cheerios taking notice of the sudden commotion while a few players ran over to Blaine.

Sam was the closest and he made it to him before anyone else.

"Yo man, you okay?"

Kurt felt his breath leave his body, watching in horror as Blaine torn off his helmet clutched his skull, almost curling into a fetal position. It took every last bit of his willpower not to run over there and take him into his arms.

Beiste was currently charging over towards Karofsky, anger written all over her face.

"What the hell happened!?"

David shrugged, looking very proud of himself for hurting Blaine without even laying a finger on him.

"I didn't see him."

Finn reached out an arm and Blaine grabbed on, standing up with shaky legs.

"It's fine. I'm alright."

Beiste immediately pulled a thin flashlight out of her pocket, flashing it in Blaine's eyes to check for the proper dilation of his pupils. When she was satisfied with his reaction she turned off the light and Blaine quickly glanced over to meet Kurt's worried gaze, giving him a nearly imperceptible nod. Beiste was stern but much calmer when she turned back to Karofsky.

"You're lucky he didn't get a concussion."

Karofsky's arm flew up as he gestured at Blaine, almost as if he was just brushing off the incident.

"It's not my fault if he's too queer to take a hit!"

Blaine walked forwards, steady on his feet and in his gaze as he glared at David.

"I am so tired of your shit! You marching around here, calling everyone gay, it's getting old."

Karofsky just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

Blaine felt a sense of calm come over him when Karofsky tried to blow off the subject; something suddenly dawning on him. It was a rough blow, just low enough for Blaine to get down to Karofsky's level, but it still would give him the upper hand.

"What are you hiding? 'Cause you know, I don't think I ever seen a girl even _look_ at you, not to mention date you. But maybe that's just 'cause _girls_ aren't really your type."

Blaine's gaze never left Karofsky, a smile staying pronounced on his face as a large majority of the jocks letting out a quiet _'Oooooh'_. Out of instinct, Karofsky began to lunge toward Blaine, ready to give him a black eye, but Beiste was one step ahead, already holding him back and roughly shoving him away.

"Cut it out! If you guys don't suck it up and start acting like a team we will _lose_ next week's game! Practice is over! Go home and cool off! And if I see anymore of this baby crap, I _will_ start kicking people off!"

The football team slowly began to disperse, Karofsky standing there a moment before finally trudging away. Blaine laughed quietly, feeling proud of himself as he walked over to grab his helmet where he had thrown it off earlier. As he bent down to grab it, he heard a voice behind him.

"Wow Anderson, didn't think you had it in you."

He stood abruptly, surprised to see the Cheerio that was standing there.

"Oh, uh, thanks Santana."

She wasn't shy in the slightest as she let her eyes slowly rake up and down in his body before finally settling her gaze on his.

"We should talk."

Blaine was a bit confused, watching with a befuddled look on his face as Santana sauntered away.

"Um…alright…"

He began to head towards the locker rooms when one of the more popular guys on the football team ran up beside him.

"Hey man!"

"Oh hey."

The guy slowed his pace to match Blaine's as he pointed his thumb back to where everything had happened.

"Pretty badass what you said back there."

Blaine smiled a bit.

"Thanks."

"Most guys wouldn't even try Karofsky but you did…twice! I mean we're all thinking it, but you actually said it!"

"Yeah I guess I did, huh?"

The guy gave Blaine a friendly clap on the shoulder.

"Hey, you know, me and a couple buds were thinking about heading back to my place and chillin'. Wanna hang? I mean, if you don't have other plans-"

Blaine was a bit taken back by the offer, surprised that anyone who wasn't inside his immediate group of friends was inviting him to hang out.

"No! Sure! Definitely!"

"Cool man."

The guy flashed him one last smile before heading over to his other friends, leaving Blaine to grin to himself as he hurried over to the locker room.

* * *

Kurt was tucked away in the corner of the library's almost empty second floor. He sat at a table, alone, tapping his pencil and impatiently glancing down at his phone every few seconds.

_Where is he?_

The clock on his screen finally hit 7:30.

_He's a half an hour late. That's it. I'm calling him._

He held the phone up to his ear, his pencil tapping even faster.

_Please no voicemail. Please no voicemail. Please no voicemail-_

"_Hello?"_

_Thank god._

"Blaine?"

"_Yeah what's up?"_

"Where are you?"

"_Friend's house. Why?"_

His pencil tapping stopped cold.

"Friend's house? So you're not on your way?"

"_On my way? Oh! Shit. The study…thing. Right. I'm so sorry. Everything happened really fast and…huh? Oh no one, it's nothing. I'll be off in a sec-"_

"Who else is with you? Blaine?"

"_Huh? Hey I gotta go. But look, I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?"_

"Blaine!"

"_What?!"_

"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"_Why are you yelling at me? It's not that big a deal. I told you I'd make it up to you."_

"Not that big a-?!…No Blaine! You're right! Go have fun with you're stupid friends! They're obviously more important!"

"_Kurt-"_

Kurt hung up on him before he had the chance to finish talking.

He began shoving his notes back into his bag, not caring what got crumpled in his haste to get out of there. He stood and slammed his chair against the table and before he knew where his feet were taking him, he found himself out in the courtyard.

It was still winter, not quite spring yet and there were small patches of snow everywhere. He threw his bag on the ground, not caring if it got dirty or scratched and sat down on the bench.

He looked down at the old wooden seat and remembered the night he had shared with Blaine in that very spot. Memories overcame him, thoughts of sweet words and soft kisses, and he angrily wiped away the few tears that had begun to fall.

His felt his phone vibrate and he swiftly answered it without checking the name, assuming Blaine was calling to apologize.

"Hello?!"

"_Heeeeyyy Kuuurtt."_

"Wh-who is this?"

There was a small chuckle on the other line.

"_You're so cute, Kurt."_

"K-…Karofsky?! Wh-…Are you drunk?!"

"_Pfft…Tipsyyy."_

"How did you get my number?"

"_You can do better than Blainnnee. He's such a fagg."_

Karofsky snorted a bit, laughing at his insult.

"_You-you should do me. Weee should go ouuuttt. "_

"E-excuse me?"

"_You…you're so hot in your faggy outfits…your cheerleading uniforrrmm. And you smile so nice. I…I wanna kiss you again. I wanna kiss you so baddd."_

Kurt was frozen in place, hand clenched onto his phone in panic.

"_Jusss…juss go out with me Kurrt. Pleeeaase? I….I want you-"_

Kurt desperately tapped the end call button, the courtyard now falling completely silent as he stared at his phone in horror. It fell from his hand, dropping down onto the bench with a hollow thud. Kurt's breathing stuttered as he slowly wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his head, not even trying to stop the tears from falling this time.


	21. Chapter 21

**LOLOLOLOLOL**

**Okay, so to anyone who didn't get to read our gag chapter: It can be found on our tumblr: kurtcoblainerextra. We'll keep it up there until our next update. However, we may re-release it as a one shot later on :)**

**To those who _did_ read it: We are very VERY sorry about trolling you guys. No, we were not hacked...or drunk...or high. lol. We both just got pretty frustrated with this story a little while back and now that we're on a roll again, we wanted to finally get out the last of those frustrations. We hope those of you who read it enjoyed it (We know we did) and we deeply apologize to anyone who was alarmed. That's just our sense of humor. xD**

**That all being said, please enjoy the **_**real**_** update. We love you guys so much! Thank you for your love and support! :)**

Chapter 21

Cooper nodded again thoughtfully. He was leaning up against the counter of the Lima Bean, watching as Blaine went on and on, explaining what had been going on with him and Kurt. Cooper hadn't said much of anything, except for telling his coffee order to the barista, only nodding along as Blaine talked.

"I just don't get why he's so upset. I mean, it was just a study date. It's not like it was a _real_ date or anything. I told him I'd make up for it. Is it really that big a deal?"

"One Medium Drip and one Double Espresso con panna."

The two brothers flashed smiles at the barista as they grabbed their coffee and had she not had the counter to hold onto she probably would have swooned and fell to the floor at the sight of them.

Having finished his explanation, Blaine was silent as they took their seats at a table, quickly taking a drink as he waited for Cooper to say something.

The older Anderson sat there, staring down at his coffee with a look of contemplation on his face. He hadn't even taken a drink when he looked up at his brother.

"You know Blaine, I've been in a lot of relationships. Like, _a lot_ of relationships. Short ones, long ones…mostly shorts one. But still, a lot. I literally cannot count the number of relations-"

Blaine had to stop his brother before he started in on some story of his countless girlfriends.

"Okay I get it."

Cooper shrugged and raised his hands in defense.

"I'm just saying-"

"Cooper."

Cooper laughed a bit, but sobered up. He put an elbow on the table and leaned forwards a bit.

"Can I give you some advice?"

Blaine raised his eyebrow, skeptical, as he added a dash of cinnamon to his coffee. But he decided to humor Cooper.

"I feel like I'm going to regret this, but sure."

Cooper nodded and sat back in his seat. He took a nice long sip of coffee before setting his cup back down and looking Blaine straight in the eye. With all of the confidence and self assurance in the world, he told Blaine the truth.

"You're being a douche bag."

Blaine's eyes went wide and he almost choked on the sip of coffee he just took.

"What the hell Coop?! You're my brother!"

Cooper gave a single nod and self satisfied grin.

"Exactly. And from one douche bag to another, I'm giving you some honest tough love right now."

Blaine slowly shook his head from side to side, unable to look at his brother.

"I can't believe this."

"Look, Kurt is the best damn thing that has _ever_ happened to you. And honestly? He's too good for you."

Blaine's jaw dropped and he placed his coffee back down on the table with a thump, finally remaking eye contact.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Have you _seen_ they way that boy dresses?! I-…Look, you blew him off, Blaine. Is he making a bigger deal out of this than he _should_ be? Maybe. But that's not the point. You're in the wrong here and you need to make this right before you screw everything up. So pull your head out of your tight ass and apologize to him."

Blaine realized Cooper was right and a sour, grumpy look came over Blaine's face. He sat back in his seat and pouted; like a five year old too proud to admit he's wrong, even though he knows for a fact that he is.

He took in a breath; a sudden feeling of guilt washing over him as his head unclouded. Kurt deserved better than this, and the _last_ thing Blaine wanted right now was to lose him.

"You're…You're right. I was being stupid. I got all that attention, _good_ attention, and I loved it _so_ _much_ that I guess I let it get to my head."

With a loud, melodramatic sigh he stood up from his chair and grabbed his coffee, head hung in defeat.

"I'm gonna head over to school. I need to talk to him."

Cooper smiled brightly, laughing a bit at Blaine's attitude.

"Atta boy, Squirt!"

Blaine paused for a second, head slowly turning down as he glanced at his brother.

"Don't… call me that…"

He went to walk away and jumped a bit when Cooper smacked on him on the ass. He watched as Blaine left the coffee shop, glad to have everything back on track.

Cooper smiled to himself as he took a sip of coffee, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere when he noticed a girl sitting at a table across the room. Her eyes were glued on him and a happy dazed smile was on her face as she stared at Cooper and completely ignored her boyfriend who was sitting right next to her.

Cooper grinned a bit and gave her a small wink, laughing to himself when she swooned and her jaw went slack. And when he saw her boyfriend begin to try, and fail, to get her attention, he couldn't help but laugh even harder.

_Just another day in the life of Cooper Anderson._

* * *

Blaine stood in front of the sink in the boys' bathroom. He pushed the soap dispenser and lathered up his hands before putting them underneath the flow of water. With a sigh Blaine thought back on the events of second hour before looking up into the mirror and seeing the frown that he didn't even know was on his face.

He had tried to take Cooper's advice and talk to Kurt during math class, tried to make things right between them and apologize. But Kurt just ignored him, simply staying silent and turning away with a look of disdain. He didn't even glance at his phone when Blaine tried to text him and he practically ran out of the classroom the moment the bell rang.

He hated it. He hated Kurt ignoring him. And he felt even more horrible realizing he was getting a taste of his own medicine. He almost snapped the handle off the dispenser when he got paper towels to dry his hands.

Just as Blaine tossed the paper in the garbage bin, the door slammed open, quickly snapping him out of his thoughts as Santana sauntered inside. A boy at the urinal whipped his head around at the noise; Santana glanced at him and gave a quick nod to the door, signaling for him to get the hell out. With a swift zip he was gone, leaving Blaine and Santana by themselves.

Blaine felt the beginnings of nerves as the Latina Cheerio made her way over to him, unsure what to make of her sudden arrival.

"Um….isn't this the boy's bathroom?"

But his question was ignored.

"Blaine Anderson. You know, when I first saw you I didn't think much. I mean, you practically _reek_ of virgin and that ridiculous Joe Jonas hair cut makes you look like a hobbit that could be easily be related to the Gay Berry Clan. But still, you're pretty cute and watching you kick Karofsky in the emotional balls yesterday was all _kinds_ of sexy. Now, Britt and I usually double team this but for some reason she's sticking with the mayor of Crippletown, so it's just gonna be you and me tomorrow night."

Blaine just stood confused, still not completely clear on what Santana meant by her little tirade.

"Um…excuse me?"

"I'm a girl who knows what she wants, and what I wants is some of that smoking hot swagger you've been lucky enough to ride on."

Blaine gave a small, nervous chuckle, finally understanding the situation and realizing what was being asked.

"I'm flattered Santana, really I am, but I just…I'm not interested."

Santana raised an eyebrow before letting out a breath that sounded a lot like a laugh and began to walk away.

"Figures. The cute ones always turn out to be gay-"

Blaine immediately reached forward to grab Santana on the shoulder and keep her from leaving.

"No!"

She slowly turned around and crossed her arms over her chest to see Blaine looking nervous as he tried to come up with an excuse for rejecting her.

"No…I'm…I'm not gay I just…um…I just broke up with my girlfriend…from my old school. It was a rough break up…you know, that distance and all and…I'm not really ready to start, uh, dating yet, so…yeah."

Santana stared at him, skeptical of his story, and he couldn't help but fidget under her discerning gaze. Just when he thought she had decided to call him out on his lie, she rolled her eyes and handed him a piece of paper held between two fingers.

"Alright, well, call me when you change your mind."

Blaine gave an unsure smile as he reached out to take the paper. With the brush of a long, tan finger across his chest and the swish of a red skirt, Santana was gone. The door slammed shut and Blaine let himself breath again, feeling like he had just dodged a sexy, Latin bullet.

* * *

Kurt walked down the hallway, upset and unsure, books clutched tight to his chest. He didn't want to think about Blaine right now, and even the mere mention of Karofsky's name made him feel sick to his stomach. He barely forced a smile at Rachel and Mercedes as he passed by them.

He turned a corner, heading down one of the more secluded halls when he felt a hand wrap around his arm and drag him into an empty classroom.

"What the-"

Kurt barely had any time to speak, but as soon as the door shut Kurt pulled away from the other person, surprised when the grip released rather quickly.

"Kurt!"

He realized it was only Blaine who had taken him into the room but when he tried to lean forward for a kiss Kurt still backed away sharply.

"I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to talk to you today."

Blaine looked like a hurt puppy, but he still tried to grab Kurt's hand and kiss him on the cheek.

"I know, I just, I need to talk to you. I need to make things righ-"

Kurt gently pushed him backwards and Blaine let himself be moved away, no resistance in his actions.

Kurt crossed his arms and stared down at the floor.

"I'm gonna go."

He was about to turn and leave but Blaine's voice held him there.

"Kurt- I… Don't go. Can you just listen to what I have to say? …_please_?"

The last word was a near whisper and Kurt shut his eyes tight. After a second, they opened and he looked up at Blaine.

"Fine."

He dropped his stuff on a nearby counter and leaned up against one of the empty desks, waiting for Blaine to speak.

"Kurt, you have every right to be mad at me."

Blaine was standing in front of Kurt, hands gesturing wildly as he tried to apologize.

"I was out of line and I…I've been so stupid and I keep messing up and…and the truth is I'm really not good at romance. I don't know that first thing about maintaining relationships and…and it's not an excuse. I shouldn't have blown you off. And I should have at least called you and…and…and I'm sorry. Look, I can't promise that I won't make any more mistakes. Chances are I'll make a lot more…I just care about you so much Kurt."

He paused for a second to look Kurt in the eyes.

"You deserve so much more than this, than the way I've been treating you and if you want to end it…I…I understand. But I'm not ready to give up on us yet."

Kurt studied his face, he saw the worry as Blaine tried to figure out whether Kurt would take his apology or not. Kurt's face softened when he finally spoke.

"I never wanted to end this."

Kurt smiled lightly, and took hold of one of his hands, causing Blaine's once rigid shoulders to slump forward in relief.

"I was just hurt, that's all."

Kurt stood up straight and placed a soft kiss on Blaine's cheek, watching as his eyes fluttered shut at the sensation. He pulled Blaine into a warm embrace and began to kiss him on the neck, enjoying the hitch in Blaine's breath when his lips met with his skin.

Kurt eventually pulled away, smiling when he saw the light flush on Blaine's cheeks. He reached over to grab his books and Blaine watched, his voice eager as he questioned Kurt.

"Can I come over today? We don't have to make out. I mean…unless you want to. I just…I want to spend more time with you."

Kurt stood with a grin on his face as Blaine babbled on.

"We can just snuggle. Or maybe watch another movie? A new episode of Jersey Shore is on tonight. We could watch that! I-"

Kurt grabbed Blaine's shirt and quieted his rambling with a kiss.

"I'd love that."

Blaine's smile grew brighter.

"Great! I'll meet you by your car in a few minutes?"

Kurt nodded and turned to leave to room.

"Sounds good. I better go."

"Okay."

The door closed and Blaine was left alone in the silence. He was surrounded in a cloud of pure bliss, though unsure if it was how he really felt or if he was just high off of Kurt's lips. But for a moment, things finally seemed okay again, manageable. And Blaine swore he could have stayed in that moment forever; wrapped in Kurt's arms, sharing kisses in school. No worries.

Five minutes passed in a flash and before Blaine knew it, the coast was clear and he decided it would be okay to leave the room. He walked out into the hall, casually waving to a few Cheerios standing next to the lockers.

Blaine turned the corner, only to be met with what could be described as a burning cold slap in the face.

Red dye number 6 dripped down his face and the sting of artificial flavors invaded his eyes. A sharp chill ran down his spine as colored ice blanketed his torso and his mind desperately tried to process what had just happened; Karofsky's laughter echoing loudly in his ears.

* * *

"God! Why does it still burn?!"

Blaine pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes, rubbing at them for the thousandth time since they had headed back to Kurt's house. Kurt was sitting on the end of his bed with a wet towel as he watched Blaine pace back and forth, trying to provide some sort of calm when he held out a hand.

"Come here."

Blaine had one palm still on his eyes as he reached out for Kurt, taking hold of his hand and sitting down between Kurt's legs on the bed.

"Shhh…"

Blaine grunted a little bit as he leaned back into Kurt and let his hand fall away from his face. Kurt placed the cool towel over his eyes and began to run his fingers through Blaine's curls, picking off small pieces of ice that had yet to melt away.

"The burning goes away in a few hours."

Blaine nodded lightly, eyes still closed underneath the towel as he snuggled backwards into his boyfriend. Once Kurt was satisfied that he had gotten all of the ice out, he wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist and placed a small kiss on his temple. Blaine felt a nice warmth spread throughout his body at the touch.

"Thanks for letting me borrow a clean shirt."

A goofy smile appeared on his face and Kurt immediately noticed.

"What?"

Blaine placed his hands over Kurt's and intertwined their fingers.

"Nothing. It just…it smells like you. It's nice."

Kurt gave a small laugh and removed the towel, pressing a small kiss onto the other boy's lips. Blaine's eyes were still closed, his lips just barely brushing against Kurt's as he spoke.

"You're wonderful."

Blaine paused, his eyes flicking open to look right at Kurt.

"I hate this so much."

Kurt leaned away and nodded sadly in agreement.

"I know. Slushies are horribl-"

"Not that."

Blaine pushed himself away from Kurt and sat across from him on the bed, their hands still intertwined as he explained his frustrations.

"I hate that we have to deal with this. It's not fair. I want to be able to talk to you and hold your hand down the hallway and walk you to class and…and be _proud_ of you."

Blaine paused and quickly kissed the back of Kurt's hand.

"'Cause I am. I am _so _proud to be your boyfriend and I can't even show it. Do you know how often I hear Sam talk about Quinn? And Artie about Brittany? Mike about Tina? And all I want to do is talk about you and…and I can't! We can't even go out on a freaking date!"

Kurt's head tilted to the side as he placed a hand on Blaine's cheek.

"We've had dates before. We had that one at your house not too long ago-"

Blaine threw his hands up in the air and stood up from the bed, unable to contain his aggravation.

"I mean a _real_ date Kurt. Like, dressing up nice and going out. Like every other couple gets to do. All I want is a normal night out with my freaking boyfriend without having to worry about rumors and whispers and idiots throwing slushies in my face!"

And with that Blaine collapsed onto the bed on his stomach and buried his face into a pillow with a groan. Kurt looked at his boyfriend for a moment, trying to think of an answer.

"Let's do it."

Blaine's head perked up suddenly in surprise.

"What?"

Kurt smiled at the simplicity of his solution.

"Let's go on a date."

Blaine buried his face back into the pillow, his voice muffled by the fabric.

"Kurtttt, we can't-"

Kurt scooted over until his was sitting next to Blaine and he began to rub his hand in soothing circles on Blaine's back.

"We'll drive out to Columbus or something. There's this really nice, small restaurant there that I went to once. I think I saw a lesbian couple there. No one seemed to have a problem with it. We can go out to dinner. I'll drive."

Blaine turned his head to look up at his boyfriend.

"Kurt…I don't know…."

"No one we know will be there, it's really small, 'off the beaten path', you know? And it's Friday night so it's not like we have school tomorrow and there's no game tonight either. Please?"

"Isn't it a two hour drive?"

"Yeah, but it's early. We'll be back by…"

Kurt did some quick mental math.

"Around nine o'clock."

Blaine gave a small nod but still seemed nervous.

"What if we see someone that we know?"

Kurt shook his head.

"We won't. I only found this place when I got lost one time."

Blaine began to chew on the inside of his cheek, contemplating the pros and cons, trying to figure out if they should actually go out tonight.

"Are you sure, Kurt?"

"One-hundred percent."

Blaine looked down for a second, a bit of worry still on his face before finally meeting Kurt's gaze with a semi-confident smile.

"Okay. But if you're driving then I'm paying."

"Blaine-"

"Kurt."

"Fine."

They laughed for a second before Kurt bent down to give Blaine a quick kiss. Blaine pulled him back in, wanting more. A smile spread across Kurt's face as he kissed back, finally placing one last peck on his cheek. Blaine pulled himself up from the bed into a sitting position.

"Do you mind if I borrow some of your clothes?"

"Not at all. Help yourself. I'll step outside so you can change."

After a quick change into an outfit which received Kurt's approval, the couple piled into Kurt's car and began the two hour drive. After hours of holding hands and loudly singing along to the radio, they finally made it to the little restaurant.

Kurt pulled into one of the few parking spaces and walked around the car to open Blaine's door. He took Kurt's hand and they walked into the restaurant, arms swinging back and forth. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by the hostess, a lovely old woman whose face lit up when she saw the young couple. Blaine couldn't help but smile back when he spoke up.

"Uh, table for two please? And, can we have one more towards the back?"

"Of course, dearies, right this way."

She smiled at them again before leading them to their seats: two, charming bistro-like chairs with a circular, metal table. The hostess gave them one last sweet glance before heading back to the front of the restaurant. Blaine pulled out Kurt's chair for him, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek as he sat. Blaine was taking his chair just as the waitress came up, a young lady who could have been the hostess's daughter and who looked just as bright and cheery.

"Here are your menus. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Kurt smiled up at the young lady as he took both of the menus.

"Water, please."

The waitress looked to Blaine as Kurt handed him his menu.

"And for you, sir?"

Blaine glanced at Kurt before giving the waitress his order.

"Water as well."

She gave them a small nod and a knowing smile.

"Okay. I'll give you two lovebirds a moment to decide what you want to eat."

Blaine's cheeks flushed red as she walked away, barely squeaking out a 'Thank you' before she was out of earshot.

Kurt smiled at Blaine as they interlocked their fingers.

"Well she seems nice."

Blaine nodded mutely as he began to peruse the menu, Kurt still gazing around at the restaurant, just enjoying the atmosphere that the place gave off.

After a few seconds of content silence, Blaine looked up from his menu.

"You don't mind do you? That we're in the back?"

Kurt blinked a few times, his little daydream interrupted.

"What? Oh, no. No, not at all. I completely understand. I'm just glad to be with you."

Kurt's smile radiated warmth and Blaine couldn't help but gaze at him, his words lazily slipping past his lips.

"Me too."

The waitress came back over, her eyes immediately going to their clasped hands and a smile coming over her face as she set down their drinks. Blaine noticed and he felt self-conscious, dropping Kurt's hand and taking hold of the menu once more.

"Have you decided on anything?"

Kurt glanced down at the page, ordering the first thing his eyes hit.

"I would love the chicken alfredo, please. And light on the sauce?"

She scribbled something down on her pad of paper.

"Of course, hun."

Blaine waited for her to finish writing before he ordered.

"I'll just have the tomato bisque."

The waitress nodded and immediately took down his order.

"Alright, I will have that out just as soon as possible. You tell me if you need anything, okay?"

Kurt answered for the both of them.

"Okay, thank you."

She gave them another one of her lovely smiles before taking their menus and walking away. Blaine still had his hands in his lap and Kurt gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Blaine shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah."

Kurt tilted his head to the side, clearly unconvinced. Blaine took noticed and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yesss. I'm fine, Kurt."

He reached a hand across the table as if to physically prove to Kurt how 'fine' he was feeling. Kurt took hold of his hand and smiled and Blaine smiled back at him and soon they were both just smiling at each other.

"_I'm more than fine."_

Blaine's words were whispered but just loud enough for Kurt to hear and when he did hear them he couldn't help but blush and look away. And Blaine loved it, he loved how bashful Kurt looked, how perfect he was, and soon Blaine found himself sitting with a charming smile on his face, shamelessly gazing at Kurt. The cheerleader finally looked back at Blaine after his blush had faded and saw the smile on his face and Kurt wanted to know what he was thinking.

"What?"

Blaine began to brush his thumb back and forth over Kurt's knuckles.

"You're just so handsome. I don't always get to appreciate it, especially in such a flattering light."

Kurt blushed again and his mouth formed a surprised little 'o' when he felt Blaine's foot brush up against his own.

"One chicken alfredo and one tomato bisque."

Blaine was surprised by the waitress' sudden appearance and his hand shot back underneath the table just as she set down their meals.

"It would have been here a bit sooner, but you two looked like you were having a moment and I didn't want to interrupt."

Kurt smiled at her thoughtfulness.

"Thank you."

She gave a small nod.

"Enjoy."

They both began in on their meals, everything seeming to be back to normal when Blaine decided to take a look around the restaurant. He let his vision sweep back and forth over the people in the room when he suddenly focused in on someone.

"Wait. Is…is that Mike?"

Kurt didn't even have to glance up to know that it was only some random stranger.

"What? No. Tina told me they were going out to the movies tonight."

Blaine turned back to Kurt, looking more than just a bit worried.

"Are you sure 'cause-"

Kurt paused, his fork still twisted in his pasta.

"Blaine."

He paused his frantic searching of the restaurant to look at Kurt.

"Yeah?...I'm sorry. Guess I'm just a bit nervous."

Kurt looked Blaine in the eye, a calm, reassuring gaze.

"It's fine. Just relax. No one we know is here."

Blaine nodded.

"You're right. Sorry."

He went back to his soup, about to put the spoon into his mouth when he looked over at Kurt.

"Do you want to try some?"

"Some of your soup? Yes, please!"

Blaine smiled and held out the spoon for Kurt, who just leaned forwards, not even bothering to take the spoon from Blaine's hand as he slipped the spoon into his mouth. Blaine was captivated by the sight, his jaw going a bit slack as he watched his boyfriend. Kurt saw Blaine's mouth hanging open and it took everything inside of him not to burst out into laughter.

"I feel like I always do this to you, first with the candy cane, now with this spoon."

Blaine smiled, standing as he set the spoon back on the table.

"I'll be right back; I have to go to the bathroom."

Kurt paused, lifting an eyebrow at Blaine's statement.

"Not like that!"

Kurt shrugged, still silent as he raised his hands in the air a bit as Blaine walked away. Kurt watched as Blaine headed for the bathroom, this bit of alone time giving him a second to think. To think about Karofsky, about how this would be the perfect time to tell Blaine, about how, no, he couldn't tell Blaine because that wouldn't help and it would only make Blaine worry even _more_, if that was possible.

So when Blaine came back from the bathroom a few minutes later looking panicked, Kurt couldn't help but be a bit on edge.

"Is everything okay, Blaine?"

He spoke quietly in reply, eyes darting around the room.

"I think I just saw a guy from the team in the bathroom."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Blaine. Calm down. Let's just have a nice night. Please? Sit down."

Blaine sat but he wasn't calm, fidgeting in his chair and looking altogether uneasy as his hand tapped out a spastic rhythm on the table top. Kurt tried to reach for his hand, but he immediately pulled it off the table.

"Kurt, can we not…"

Kurt was staring him straight in the eye, searching for an answer and Blaine had to turn away.

"I…I feel like people are staring."

Kurt slowly pulled his hand back to his side of the table.

"Fine."

The next few minutes were tense as Kurt tried to strike up conversation; Blaine kept giving one word answers until it turned into a completely one-sided conversation with Kurt talking while Blaine sat there, a ball of nerves in his seat.

"…And so this one girl got _so_ excited because you had bumped into her. Do you hear me? Because you had _bumped into _her. Isn't that hilarious, Blaine?…Blaine? _Blaine!_"

"Huh? I'm sorry. I got distracted."

Kurt sharply set his fork down and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Do you want to just go?"

"But-"

"You're obviously uncomfortable and it's getting harder to enjoy this."

Kurt was staring at him with a hard gaze and Blaine had to pause, trying to figure out how to phrase his question.

"Would you be upset if we did?"

Kurt's jaw clenched and he looked down at the table for a second.

"I'd…I'd understand."

After getting the check and a sad smile from their waitress, Blaine paid for their meal and they took the rest home in to-go boxes.

The ride home was silent except for the radio, but after hearing Taio Cruz's _Dynamite _play for the fifth time, Kurt reached over and shut off the music, leaving the car in complete silence for the rest of the drive.

They reached Blaine's house and Kurt walked him to the door, Blaine's head hung low the entire way.

"I'm sorry about ruining our night."

"It's fine."

Kurt shrugged and acted like it was nothing, but Blaine knew him better than that and he knew he was disappointed.

"I'll call you later?"

Blaine's voice was hopeful and strained, and Kurt only gave him a meek smile.

"Goodnight, Kurt."

"Night."

Blaine went to give him a kiss on the lips but Kurt turned his head just before Blaine's lips met his. He paused for a second, wanting to say something but instead just giving Kurt a light kiss on the cheek.

He watched as Kurt walked back to his car and drove away, only going inside when Kurt's car was out of sight. Blaine entered the front door of his empty house, feeling horribly guilty. But more than anything, he was worried. He went into the kitchen to get a glass of water to calm his nerves. Blaine took a sip, trying to ignore the thought that had been circling around in his head since he got slushied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it out on the counter. He took another drink of water, desperately trying to push the thought out of his mind, but it was no use.

He set the glass down on the counter, grabbed his phone and dialed a number, each ring adding to his nerves. It had rung about three times and they still hadn't answered. Blaine was about to end the call when the ringing stopped and her heard a voice on the other line.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, Santana? It's Blaine. Um…about that date…"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Kurt stepped out of the lunch line, salad in hand, and took no time in deciding who he wanted to eat with. He headed straight for Mercedes and Rachel, wanting to see them after sitting with the Cheerios for almost all of last week.

"Hello, ladies."

Kurt gave the pair of them a quick smile as he slid into the open space next to Mercedes.

"Hey, Kurt."

Rachel didn't even bother with a hello.

"Kurt, you are not going to believe this!"

Mercedes smiled at Rachel's enthusiasm and Kurt just raised his eyebrow, looking very skeptical as he took a quick drink of water.

"What am I not going to believe?"

Rachel smiled brightly and leaned forwards, lowering her voice as if her big news was some huge secret.

"In three months, Wicked is going to be at the Ohio Theatre!"

Kurt was just about to put dressing on his salad when he froze and looked up at Rachel.

"What? Are you serious!? The tour wasn't even supposed to _drive_ through Ohio, let alone perform here!"

Rachel seemed almost offended that Kurt was questioning her validity.

"Of course I'm serious, Kurt! I wouldn't joke about something like this!"

Kurt shook his head.

"No, no of course not. I just- I can't believe it! Wait, but what if the tickets are sold out?"

"Please? Do you actually think the people in Ohio would appreciate the fine arts, let alone _pay _to go see them? Anyways, I already bought us tickets. You can thank me later."

Kurt beamed at her, about to ask how much the tickets cost when he noticed Blaine walk into the lunch room. He smiled at Kurt, and Kurt couldn't help but smile back, though he was a bit surprised that Blaine was even acknowledging him. He didn't care the reason, he was just happy that Blaine wasn't ignoring him.

His thoughts drifted back to their failed date, how he shouldn't have been disappointed, how he should have expected something like that to happen. Blaine was still so skittish when it came to his sexuality being out in the open, it only made sense that he wanted to leave so quickly. Kurt was thinking about how handsome Blaine had looked all dressed up when Rachel's voice invaded his thoughts.

"Ugh, figures. I guess you were right all along, Kurt."

Kurt turned to her, a bit confused, but still eager to hear why exactly he was right.

"I just don't understand why it's _always_ Santana. I mean first she sleeps with Finn,"

Kurt laughed as soon as he heard Finn's name, taking a huge bite of salad as she continued to talk.

"… and now her and Blaine are going out,"

Kurt's eyes nearly popped out of his skull and he began to choke on his salad, Rachel still talking as if nothing was going on.

"and you know, I really thought him and I made a connection. Like, all I needed was one duet with him and we'd be set-"

Mercedes was the first to notice that Kurt's face was turning red and she began to pound his back.

"Oh my god! Kurt! Breathe!"

She finally smacked him hard enough on the back, and lettuce flew out of his mouth. Kurt wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand before turning to Rachel and sputtering out an angry,

"What?!"

Rachel finally seemed to become worried about Kurt's near-death experience.

"Kurt are you oka-"

He brushed her comment away with the flick of a hand.

"I'm fine! What was that about Santana?!"

Rachel was still a bit confused and very concerned as she explained what had happened.

"Um, her and Blaine went out on a date this Saturday. I was pretty sure the entire city knew by the way she's flaunting it."

Kurt whipped his head over to look at Blaine and Santana just in time to see her run a hand through his curls. Her legs were crossed and stretched out in his lap, her other hand intertwined with his, and the very sight of it made Kurt cringe. He sharply looked away, resisting the urge to just start screaming.

Mercedes looked at him, alarmed by his sudden behavior.

"Are you sure you're okay Kurt?"

Kurt took a deep breath, trying to keep himself in check.

"Yeah I'm fine. I have to go finish some homework."

Kurt stood up, almost mechanically, chucking what was left of his salad into the garbage. He looked back to take one last glance at Blaine. The jock's bright smile seemed to freeze over under Kurt's icy cold glare. A look of utter confusion took its place and all Kurt could do what shake his head before storming out, the door slamming loudly behind him.

* * *

Kurt quickly shoved the last of his things into his bag and slammed the locker shut, wanting nothing more than to just get home. The loud bang caused Blaine, who had been standing behind the open locker door, to visibly flinch and jump back a little.

"Uh, hey. Are you okay? You seemed a little weird at lunch."

Blaine smiled, which just enraged Kurt even more and he rolled his eyes before turning and walking away.

"Hey. Kurt? Kurt, hold on!"

Blaine ran after him, only catching up with him after he had already gotten outside and began to head for his car.

"Kurt-"

Blaine reached out for Kurt's arm to hold him back, only to have his hand smacked away. Kurt whipped around, finally addressing him.

"Stop it!"

He looked hurt, his eyes going wide as he pulled his hand away from the cheerleader.

"Kurt? W-what's wrong? Is this,"

Blaine paused, glancing around to make sure that they were alone even though they were clearly the only people in the empty parking lot.

"Is this about our date? Because I said I was sorry. I know I shouldn't have acted that way and-"

Kurt cut him off, anger overcoming his usual patience.

"It's not our _stupid_ date, Blaine! This is about the one you had with Santana!"

Blaine stood there in shock, the realization of what he had done suddenly donning on him.

"Kurt…I-"

Kurt shook his head, not willing to hear any of his excuses.

"You know I've put up with so much for you?! I've put up with you out right ignoring me, blowing me off! But _this_?! This is taking it too far!"

Blaine took a step back, stuttering out his defense.

"Kurt…She…She's a girl. I-I didn't realize you'd be so upset. You-you were laughing about this stuff before and-"

Kurt took a step forward, a fury burning in his eyes that shook Blaine to the core. He had never seen him so angry before, not at him.

"You didn't realize I'd be upset?! You didn't realize that maybe, just maybe, I don't _like_ having to share you with the _entire_ female student body?! You're _my_ boyfriend, Blaine! And Santana!? Of all people, of all the deranged hormonal girls flocking around you like sheep, it _had_ to be her?!"

Thunder from the clouds above threatened rain as Blaine tried to figure out what to do.

"Kurt… why didn't you ever talk to me about this?"

He just rolled his eyes and began to walk away. Blaine reached out for him again.

"Kurt, I'm sor-"

He shook his arm violently when he felt Blaine's hand.

"Don't touch me!"

Tears began to swell in Blaine's eyes, his voice almost sounding like a strangled plea.

"_Kurt…_"

"No. No, I'm done talking about this today."

He didn't even look back when he got into his car and drove away, leaving Blaine in the middle of the parking lot, burying his face in his hands as rain began to fall.

* * *

Blaine: Kurt please pick up your phone.

Please?

I just need to talk to you.

Kurt?

Kurt: Leave me alone.

Blaine: Kurt just pick up.

Please?

* * *

Kurt entered his house, a little wet from the rain outside, and closed the front door quietly. The whole house was empty and all he could hear was rain coming down on the roof and thunder from a far away lightening strike. He let his bag fall from his grasp onto the floor and trudged over into the kitchen, feeling simply exhausted by this whole ordeal.

His motions became automatic, as if he was on autopilot as he began to make a pot of coffee. He turned on the old coffee maker, adding grounds and water as he rubbed at his eyes. A loud beep signaled that the coffee was done and he poured himself a cup. Kurt added the usual sugar and creamer, sitting down at the breakfast table with a thump. He stared down at his coffee for a second and then went to take a drink.

The cup made it halfway to his mouth before he started to bawl. He had felt the tears coming, his hand shaking as it had held his cup, and a sharp pressure had been building behind his eyes. He had been holding everything in, bottling it up, keeping it hidden and staying strong, but today was a breaking point for him. He felt nauseous as tears, hot and salty, fell from his cheeks and he shoved the coffee away.

He put his head down on the table in the cradle of his own arms, loud, agonizing sobs wracking his body as frustrated tears poured out. Kurt didn't even try to calm himself, didn't care when the tears began to wet his sleeves. He just stayed there, waiting for the tears to stop.

And with time they did. Half an hour passed and as his coffee grew cold, his sobs slowed and he eventually regained control of himself.

Kurt lifted his head up, wiping at his cheeks and glaring at his coffee. He took a small sip.

_Cold._

With a grimace he got up and poured the drink down the drain. He set his cup next to the sink and placed his hands on the counter when he heard someone knocking rapidly at the front door.

_Finn._

He assumed it was his brother; ever the forgetful one, he had probably locked himself out once again. Kurt made his way over to the door, opening it as he spoke.

"Finn how many times are you going to forget-"

Even in the state that Kurt was in, the sight of Blaine still shocked him. He looked positively horrible, soaked to the bone from the rain and shaking slightly. Blaine was staring at Kurt with this pitiful look in his eyes and it made it seem like he could burst into tears at any moment. His shoes were dirtied as if he had run the whole way there and his red, puffy eyes told Kurt everything he needed to know. As if to confirm Kurt's thoughts, Blaine then sniffled and brought up the back of a hand to wipe at his nose like a five year old.

They just looked at each other, the tension in the air almost palpable. Water dripped from Blaine's curls as held out a bouquet of once-robust, yellow and red roses.

"I brought you flowers."

Kurt looked down at the wilted flowers and then back up to Blaine's face and his pleading eyes.

"Please go home, Blaine. I don't want to do this right now."

Kurt reached for the door handle when Blaine spoke.

"I'm not leaving until I talk to you."

Kurt began to close the door but Blaine held it from shutting.

"Kurt, you…you're crying… _Please_."

Kurt looked down at the floor for a long second, his eyes wetting a bit before taking a step back and opening the door for Blaine.

They were silent when Kurt led him into the kitchen.

"Sit down, I'll get you a blanket and some coffee."

Blaine slumped down into one of the chairs, bouquet still clutched in his fingers and head hung low. Kurt went to grab a towel and a blanket, hating himself more and more for letting Blaine come in. He reentered the kitchen, set the blanket on the table and then went to stand behind Blaine, tilting the jock's head back as he began to towel him off, first gently drying his hair before moving down to his arms.

Kurt placed the towel on the table then wrapped the blanket around Blaine, tucking it around his shoulders.

"Take off your shoes so your feet can warm up."

Blaine nodded before slipping off his soggy sneakers and socks.

Kurt grabbed a vase out of the cabinet and placed the wilted flowers in it, then got out mugs and poured two fresh cups of coffee.

Kurt handed Blaine a mug of coffee and then sat, silent as he stared at Blaine curiously, waiting for him to speak. Blaine just stared down at the drink, finger tracing the rim as he explained himself.

"Kurt, I…I don't want to fight with you. I _hate_ fighting with you. I'm not here to make excuses. You should be upset. I…I've been awful to you. I didn't just put our relationship on the line; I put our friendship at risk too."

He looked up, his eyes already wet.

"You are my best friend, Kurt. And I just keep messing everything up…That date with Santana…It was awful. The entire time all I wanted to do was be with you…"

His voice quieted to just above a whisper, looking straight at Kurt as he spoke.

"…that's all I ever want to do."

Blaine angrily wiped at his eyes.

"And I felt so…_terrible_ about our date and I shouldn't have even said yes to her I…I said no, at first…but…I panicked. And that's not an excuse! I…I didn't mean that as an excuse. I…I just took her home afterwards and gave her a peck and it was gross and disgusting and…and all I wanted was for it to be you instead."

Blaine was turning into a scared, rambling mess, his whole body nearly shaking as he spoke.

"And I am _so_ sorry, Kurt. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through and for cheating with all those girls and-"

Up until now Kurt had been silent, watching as Blaine fell apart in front of him, but he had to stop him there.

"Cheating? Blaine. You didn't cheat on me."

Blaine looked up, brow scrunched in confusion and worry.

"But, Santana…and all those other girls. The flirting and-"

Kurt held up his hand slightly.

"Having a beard hardly constitutes as cheating, Blaine. I know that you're just doing all this because you're scared, I understand that. I'm just so…_exhausted_. I'm tired of trying to make this work and feeling like the only one of us who is."

Blaine looked heartbroken.

"Kurt-"

He kept talking, trying to say everything without breaking down as well.

"I know you want to be with me, Blaine. But you don't know how to handle your life right now. You don't know how to handle the rumors or Karofsky or your friends or your fluctuating popularity and I'm tired of coming second to all of that."

Blaine shook his head, trying to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't want you to. I want you to come first. I…I want us to be together so bad but…you deserve someone who isn't just proud of you but _can_ be proud of you. And I…I _can't_ come out...I've thought about it, and just _thinking_about it is…"

He paused and took a deep breath, his eyes shutting for a second.

"…terrifying. I feel like I need to do all these things to stop that from happening, to protect myself. But I just feel like every step I take to protect myself is a step away from you. And I…I feel like I _need_ to be with you and the thought of losing you kills me because…because…"

Blaine let his face fall into his hands with a groan.

_Because I feel like I might love you…_

He didn't dare say it out loud, not until it was something he was sure of. But he couldn't fight the feeling that had been growing more and more each day since he met Kurt Hummel.

Kurt stayed silent, and he could just make out what Blaine said when he mumbled into his hands.

"_You and I both know this is more than some forgotten high-school romance_."

He stood up and looked at Kurt, an odd sadness in his eyes that Kurt didn't quite understand.

"I…I'll go know. I'm so sorry, Kurt. For everything. I'll, uh, I'll see you around.-"

In an almost panicked reaction, Kurt grabbed his hand.

"Don't…"

He took a deep breath.

"Don't go, Blaine."

Blaine stood there, not knowing what he was supposed to do. Kurt very gently tugged on his hand.

"Please?"

Blaine sat back down, silent as Kurt spoke.

"If…if we're going to stay together, there _needs_ to be changes."

Blaine nodded, eager to do whatever he had to fix this.

"First of all, we're friends Blaine. We have been since before we even got together. There is no reason for you to ignore me."

Blaine nodded again, agreeing with Kurt completely.

"You're absolutely right."

Kurt smiled a bit at how excited Blaine was getting.

"Second, the flirting needs to stop. I know the girls won't stop, but _you_ need to. And this whole thing with Santana-"

Blaine jumped in, saying exactly what Kurt was about to.

"I'll end it! Immediately."

Kurt held onto Blaine's hand tighter.

"And lastly, I need you to _promise_ me that I'm not wasting my time with you, Blaine. I know you're not ready to come out yet, but things can_not_ be like this forever."

Blaine nodded, slower this time, but with confidence.

"I-I promise."

Kurt stood at the same time Blaine did and pulled him in for a hug. Blaine moved back and kissed him, a dopey little smile on his face.

"I…I want to do something nice for you. C-can I make you dinner? O-or something?"

Kurt gave an uneasy smile.

"No, you don't have to do that."

Blaine tilted his head to the side.

"What? Didn't you like the popcorn I made?"

Kurt opened and closed his mouth a few times before deciding what to say.

"Well, it was…um…it was…"

Blaine raised his eyebrow, a smirk on his face.

"It was…really burnt."

Blaine began laughing.

"It's fine, Kurt, I know I'm not the best cook."

Kurt smiled easier now, and then glanced down at Blaine's still-wet clothing.

"Do you want a change of clothes?"

Blaine looked down at himself

"Oh, sure, thanks."

Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and brought him up to his room.

"You wait here, I'll go grab you some of Finn's old clothing, you probably don't want to be sitting around the house wearing my dress shirts and bowties."

After of few minutes of digging around through the biohazard that was Finn's room, Kurt came back with an old tee shirt and some jeans which were probably around six inches too long. He set the clothes down on the bed and Blaine stood to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks."

Kurt had figured Blaine would take the clothes and go change in the bathroom, so when Blaine took off his shirt without any warning, Kurt was more than a bit embarrassed. He turned his face away immediately, cheeks flushing a furious shade of red.

_Um…uh…okay…just breathe…ohgod….he's really…uh…breathe! Breathe Kurt!_

Blaine noticed his blush and, thinking Kurt was just being bashful, walked over and put his hands on Kurt's hips just as he placed a kiss on the exposed skin of his neck.

_Breathe, breathe, breathe!_

Kurt finally took his own advice, taking in a deep breath before finally looking Blaine in the eyes. A warmth filled his body from head to toe as Blaine's passion filled gaze met with him, their eyes locked for a second and it was as if something had clicked.

Blaine's lips crashed down on Kurt's, kissing him long and hard as he pressed Kurt's body up against the wall and tightened his grip on his hips. Kurt wasn't thinking anymore, just feeling as he brought his hands up to Blaine's bare chest, running his fingers over his muscles as if etching them into his memory. He moved his arms to wrap around Blaine's back, moaning lightly and clawing at the skin there when Blaine began to suck on his bottom lip.

When Blaine brought his hands up to Kurt's hair, pulling his head back gently to expose his neck, he felt the blood rushing out of his head. Blaine began to suck another bruise just below his collar bone and his eyes glazed over, raw emotion filling his body as he pushed up against Kurt's.

Blaine pulled back a little bit. His hands left Kurt's hips and he began to unbutton his own pants, causing Kurt practically to shove him back in panic and the mood of the room quickly died.

"Whoa! Okay! So, um...I'm gonna…um step outside so you can uh…finish changing."

Blaine's hair was messy and his cheeks were flushed as smiled with bruised lips and raised an eyebrow.

"Kurt, we're both guys. We know what each other looks like."

Kurt refused to look him in the eye, his arms clamped firmly down at his sides. Blaine reached a hand out to touch him and his eyes widened, not liking the contact.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Kurt forced himself to look Blaine in the eye, even if his cheeks _were _still burning with embarrassment.

"N-nothing I just…I…granted when we started dating my dad and I had _'the talk'_ but I just…I hated every minute of it and I'm not really comfortable and I'm not ready for that kind of stuff and…and…"

Blaine stopped him before he turned into a babbling mess.

"Kurt. It's okay. I…um…I don't think I'm ready for anything like that either. I, uh, I guess I wasn't really thinking in the right…uh…place."

Blaine gave him a quick, light kiss on the cheek before grabbing the clothes and leaving. Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed, hands folded in his lap as he waited for Blaine to finish changing.

Blaine walked back in; jeans rolled up so he could actually walk in them, and noticed how uncomfortable Kurt looked.

"Hey, you okay?"

Kurt shrugged, his eyes flicking up to meet Blaine's.

"Yeah I…I don't know. I still feel a little weird."

Blaine was silent for a second, thinking, but then he got a mischievous look on his face and made a running leap for the bed.

"Blaine! What are you-"

He landed in just the perfect position, on his side with a hand propping up his head as if he was posing for some swimsuit magazine and he gave Kurt a cheeky grin.

"Do you wanna just cuddle?"

Kurt couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

"You're such a goof!"

But then his laughter turned into a smile.

"But, yes, I'd love that."

He crawled over to Blaine, settling himself down so he was facing him.

"I love it when you smile."

Kurt smiled again when he heard that and Blaine broke out into a grin.

"See? Right there, it's beautiful."

Kurt blushed as he curled up into Blaine, the shorter boy's arms wrapping around him and pulling him close. They laid like that for a while, just looking at each other, happy and warm and safe in each other's arms. Their breathing began to sync up, the rhythmic rise and fall of Blaine's chest so close to his and the comfort of his arms began to lull Kurt to sleep. He could fight it no longer and his eyes shut, the calm of sleep finally pulling him under.

* * *

_Early morning light peaked through Kurt's curtains, his open window letting in a warm summer breeze that made the fabric gently sway back and forth. He heard a voice call to him, soft and airy as it gently woke him from his slumber._

"_Sweet pea?"_

_His little eyes blinked open and he yawned, big and sleepy as he rubbed at his eyes._

"_Mama?"_

_He could smell blueberry pancakes; the scent of Sunday morning wafting through the house as she gently opened his door._

"_Mama!"_

_Kurt was still half asleep as a tired smile lit up his face and he reached out his arms for her, little fists opening and closing as he waited to be picked up. She walked over, still dressed in her pajamas as she brought him up into her embrace._

_His arms immediately wrapped around her neck and he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume and relaxing in the comfort of her arms. He always held on so tightly, with the intention of never letting go. She smiled warmly down at him, rubbing his back and smoothing out his hair as she enjoyed his affections._

_Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered down to him._

"_Good morning, Sweet Pea."_

_He sighed happily._

"_Good mornin', mama."_

Soft piano notes drifted through the house and Kurt's eyes blinked open as he woke from his dream. Kurt reached out his arms across empty sheets in search of someone to hold onto.

"Blaine?"

His vision cleared and he realized he was alone in his bed, but he didn't remember someone pulling a blanket over him. The piano notes swelled and quieted, lightly flowing through a familiar melody.

Kurt pulled the sheets off of himself and walked downstairs to the piano that hadn't been played in years. He was about to walk inside of the old music room when he saw Blaine at the piano.

He was completely engulfed in the music as his fingers lightly danced along the keys. His eyes were closed as he played, not needing to even glance at the piano. Blaine was completely at peace and calm, so tranquil that it seemed almost unreal. The rain outside had stopped and now the moon was throwing light over Blaine, casting a glow around him and highlighting every feature.

Kurt watched him, a sense of longing coming over him. Longing for what, he didn't know. But as he watched Blaine, it was almost as if he was being reminded why he fell for him in the first place, as if he was falling all over again.

The last few notes drifted away and Blaine placed his hands in his lap.

"That was beautiful."

Kurt spoke softly, but in the newfound silence it was enough to make Blaine jump and turn around.

"I…I didn't know you were up. I'm sorry I left I you, but you looked so happy and-"

Kurt walked over to him with a huge smile on his face.

"Blaine, it's fine."

He bent down to place a sweet, chaste kiss on his lips, Blaine smiling brightly when he pulled away. Blaine scooted over a bit on the piano bench and Kurt sat down next to him, immediately resting his head on Blaine's shoulder as they clasped their hands.

"That was Coldplay, right?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, Postcards from Far Away."

Kurt gave him a single kiss on the neck.

"It sounded very beautiful."

"Thank you."

Kurt reached forward to hit a few notes on the piano.

"No one's used this piano is years, I'm surprised it still sounded in tune. My mom used to play on it all the time. She'd give me lesson but I don't remember much. Just a few songs."

Blaine looked down at Kurt with a raised eyebrow.

"Like, You Are My Sunshine?"

Kurt laughed.

"Yes, like that."

"Here."

Blaine took Kurt's right hand and placed it on a few keys. He set his own hand right on top of Kurt's and began to play a simple song. Over and over Blaine moved Kurt's hand through a familiar rhythm until finally he let go and Kurt was playing by himself.

After only two notes he hit the wrong key. Blaine pointed to the correct one and Kurt kept playing, until three notes later when he hit the wrong key again. Blaine pointed to the correct one and Kurt grinned, purposefully hitting the wrong key.

"This one?"

The process repeated; both of them smiling and giggling until Kurt decided to play into "You Are my Sunshine."

The both of them laughed for a second after Kurt had played the first few notes but soon quieted down, Blaine's mind taking him back to when he was younger.

"My mom loved to sing. When I was little she'd always make sure Coop and I were educated in art, especially music. I'd have piano lessons every Sunday after church. I loved it. Cooper? Not so much. He loved play, just not with his hands."

Blaine chuckled.

"To this day he won't touch a piano unless it's with his butt."

Kurt burst out into laughter at the thought of Cooper practically smacking the keys with his behind. Blaine laughed along with him, but his smile slowly faded as he stared down at the keys.

"I would spend hours on the piano, and all my dad wanted was for me to come play football with him and Coop….He always kinda blamed my mom for how I turned out."

Blaine shook the thought out of his head and turned to Kurt, picking up their intertwined fingers and kissing the back of Kurt's hand.

He watched as a single tear glistened at the edge Blaine's eye and he brushed it away with his thumb, quickly leaning forward to kiss his boyfriend. Blaine let go of Kurt's hand and kissed him back so deeply that it felt like an electric pulse ran through his body.

Blaine pulled away to look Kurt in the eyes.

"You know I care about you, right?"

Kurt nodded immediately.

"Of course."

Blaine leaned forwards, pulling him into a tight embrace and Kurt held on just as tightly, as if he had the intention of never letting go.

"I don't know what I'd do if lost you…I…I'm so sorry, Kurt."

Kurt rubbed Blaine's back soothingly.

"Hey, no more of that, okay? We're gonna be fine."

Blaine laughed, still mystified at how kind Kurt was.

"How can you just forgive me like that?"

Kurt pulled back and placed a long, soft kiss on his lips.

"Because I care about you too. And being with you…it just feels right."


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay guys, just letting you guys know we're getting towards the final chapters. We know we have a lot going on, but trust us. We think you'll like how it all falls together…more or less. Lol. Also, we're taking a two week hiatus to write our next chapter. It's a very big one, one we've wanted to write since we started the fic, and for that reason we want to take extra time to make sure it's just right. Anyways, enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 23

Blaine laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Muffled yells crept through his walls, the distance between him and the downstairs battle ground almost enough to filter the obscenities.

Almost.

Another loud yell broke through the barrier of his room and Blaine rolled over on his side, pulling the covers up over his head to try and block out some of the noise. It was a standard fight. His dad his probably had one drink too many. His mother was probably too exhausted and spent to put up with him anymore. Though he wasn't sure what triggered it this time; work, money,

_Me._

He took in a breath, slightly flinching as some sort of china or glass shattered; just another casualty in this seemingly ongoing war.

_I wish Cooper was still here._

He parents never fought when Cooper was home, not since Blaine had woken up at the hospital. Instead the house was just completely silent.

No one would tell him why or what, but Blaine knew something happened between Coop and their dad. Enough to make them not even acknowledge each other in passing. Cooper, if even home, would rarely eat dinner with them or spend any time with them whatsoever. In fact, the only reason he ever _was_ home was to see his brother. He spent most of his time in L.A.; doing what, Blaine wasn't sure.

His father's voice echoed through the walls and he heard another crash, almost positive it was a wine bottle hitting the wall.

Blaine shut his eyes tight and curled himself into a ball, trying keep from shaking too horribly, trying to stay calm.

He heard another shout, this time from his mother, and a sense of longing washed over him. He desperately reached out for his phone, fingers trembling as he scrolled through his phone, quickly clicking call when he found the name he was looking for.

"_Hello?"_

Blaine's face instantly lit up, his mind tearing itself away from reality and concentrating solely on the soothing voice on the other end.

"Hey, Kurt!"

"_Hey! Hold on a sec… Okay, I'm good. What's up?"_

"Not much, just-"

Blaine shut his eyes as the iron grip of his mother's voice, or what was left of it, began to rip him away from his sanctuary. He took a breath, once again focusing on the thought of Kurt's smile.

"Just chilling. Hanging around. Missing you. What are you up to?"

"_I miss you too! Um, I'm at Rachel's house. We were just about to start watching Phantom of the Opera."_

"Oh…"

As hard as he tried, Blaine couldn't fight the feeling a disappointment that swelled inside him.

"That's, um…that's awesome! I…I'll let you go."

"_No, it's fine. They can wait. It's not like I haven't seen it a dozen times already."_

Blaine sighed, taking comfort and relief in sound of Kurt's laughter.

"_Are you okay?"_

But his mind had already returned to the fight below him, which seemed to be reaching a climax. Blaine cringed for a second at his father's voice, forcing himself to bring his attention back to Kurt.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"_Blaine."_

"It's nothing…"

The whole house shook as his father stormed out and slammed the door.

"…Parents are just being weird."

"_Do you wanna come over?"_

Blaine paused a moment, head clearing now that the house was silent.

"To Rachel's? Would she be okay with that?"

"_Blaine, I can honestly tell you that I am one hundred percent positive that Rachel Barbra Berry will have no problem whatsoever with you coming over."_

Blaine laughed, still unsure.

"_C'mon. You haven't had a movie night with us for months. You're due."_

Blaine heard the door to his parents' room shut as his mother retreated into their room.

"Okay, okay. Fair enough. Text me the directions. I'll be right over."

"_Great, I can't wait!"_

* * *

Blaine stepped out of his car, checking the address on his phone one last time to make sure he was at the right house.

With a bit of a nervous breath he walked up to the front porch, not even having the chance to ring the bell before Kurt opened the door and pulled him into a hug. Blaine clung tightly, head resting on Kurt's shoulder as he hung on to what little bit of alone time they had.

"I'm really glad to see you, Kurt."

"Sa-"

"Blaine!"

Their moment was halted by Rachel's loud, echoing voice. They immediately pulled apart; the brunette's small feet quickly pounding down the stairs as she skipped over, heading straight for Blaine and burying him in a Rachel-sized bear hug.

"We are going to have _so_ much fun! This movie is perfection!"

"Hi, Rachel."

Blaine couldn't help but laugh as he hugged her back, just happy to be with friends who loved him. Mercedes appeared at the top of the stairs, bowl of popcorn in hand as she called down to them.

"Rachel hurry up, I wanna get my phantom on!"

Rachel quickly shouted back.

"I was having a moment!"

Mercedes laughed as she watched Rachel drag Blaine up the stairs arm in arm, Kurt giggling as he followed close behind.

They all settled in for the movie, shutting off the lights and laying on sleeping bags on the floor, all of them on their stomachs so they could stare up at the TV screen. Blaine was on the farthest side, with Kurt on his right. Rachel was laying next to him, followed by Mercedes, the four of them in a straight line as Rachel hit play.

There was a collective sigh when Raoul came on the screen, each and every one of them all swooning at the sight. Rachel was practically drooling as she gazed at the TV.

"He's so beautiful."

Kurt had his head resting in his hand, pinky finger playing with his bottom lip as he grabbed a few pieces of popcorn and popped them in his mouth.

"Yes. Yes he is."

Mercedes nodded in agreement.

"That boy is downright _attractive_."

Kurt sighed as he ogled Raoul.

"Christine's so lucky. If a man ever sang All I Ask of You to me I…I honestly don't even know what I'd do."

The girls and Kurt giggled for a second, Blaine's voice meek and quiet when he spoke.

"He's very…handsome."

Rachel and Mercedes kept discussing just how amazing Raoul was as Kurt turned to Blaine with an amused smile on his face. He was greeted with the sight of Blaine's puppy dog eyes and a look that said _'I want to fawn over him too…' _

He laughed again and Blaine sighed, leaning his head down on Kurt's shoulder. The Cheerio gently nudged him and whispered into his ear.

"_Um, Blaine, there are people here. You may not want to…"_

Blaine lifted his head, giving Kurt a quick shrug and a small, warm smile before nuzzling his head back down onto Kurt's shoulder. It was dark in the room except for the TV, and neither Rachel nor Mercedes could see when Blaine took Kurt's hand in his own or when he placed the lightest of kisses on Kurt's cheek.

The movie continued on for a little bit, that is until Christine sang Think of Me and Rachel burst into her much expected monologue.

"I am so perfect for the role of Christine."

A collective groan went up as Rachel continued her squeaky little lecture.

"No, really I am. The role was pretty much written for me. We're both delicate, petite brunettes with _amazing_ bone structure. I mean, this movie is _practically_ my life story. A beautiful, young, amazingly talented girl, always being ignored and shoved away from the spotlight."

Mercedes went monotone, her words oozing sarcasm.

"Oh yes. Of course. You're also a French orphan, just like her."

Kurt's voice was amused as he pointed out just how unlike the two were.

"And you have a mysterious, disfigured teacher who is twice your age and lusting after you from the catacombs beneath your house."

Blaine laughed and added the cherry on top of the 'you are so wrong' ice cream cone.

"And don't forget the long lost childhood love!"

Rachel pouted, rolling her eyes at their suggestions.

"Well, fine. But I could _play _Christine better than anyone else. My vocal range couldn't be more perfect."

Kurt smirked and turned to quietly whisper to Blaine.

"My _vocal range is better for Christine than hers is."_

Blaine had to quiet his laughter to avoid the wrath of Rachel. The movie played on and everyone cringed the second Christine took the Phantom's hand and decided to follow him down into his lair. Kurt immediately threw some popcorn at the screen.

"Oh c'mon, Christine! Don't go down into the _chamber_ with him!"

Mercedes shook her head and then gave Rachel a little nudge.

"Dumb bitch never learns. You know, Rachel you're right. You would be perfect to play Christine."

Rachel's jaw dropped and she glared at Mercedes.

"Oh, ha ha. You know, you laugh now but you just wait. I'll have you know…"

As Rachel explained just how _wrong _Mercedes was, Blaine took this chance to flash a bright smile at Kurt, almost kissing him before suddenly standing up.

"Hey, Rachel? Is it okay if I go grab a glass of water downstairs?"

"…On _Broadway_!"

Rachel looked up from her little tirade.

"Huh? Oh, water, right! Yeah, sure, that's fine."

She smiled and he gave a quick nod before leaving the room. A few seconds later Kurt's phone vibrated, he glanced down to read the text, pulling his best poker face when he spoke.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go…make some more popcorn."

He sped out of the room, not even hearing Rachel when she shouted.

"But we have a full bowl right here!"

The door closed behind him and Mercedes looked at Rachel, eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

Kurt walked down the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible as he cautiously called out.

"Blaine? Blaine where are-"

The door to the hall bathroom opened and Blaine reached out to pull Kurt in.

"Blaine, you _do_ know Rachel has a bathroom in her room, right?"

Blaine shut the door and turned around to face Kurt, an impish grin on his face.

"Yeah. But I wouldn't be able to do this."

Blaine grabbed his arms and pushed him up against the wall, his mouth cover Kurt's, kissing him hungrily like he had wanted to do all night. Kurt's eyes went wide, but he almost immediately calmed, relaxing into the kiss as Blaine let his hands drift down Kurt's arms, clasping their hands as his kisses slowed, becoming more tender and gentle; more loving.

Blaine finally pulled away, and Kurt's eyes blinked open, his face flushed and lips bruised as he spoke in a breathless whisper.

"Blaine…"

Kurt placed a hand on Blaine's chest and the other on his cheek as the jock explained himself.

"I'm sorry. I just, I'm so happy being here with you and I…I just needed to kiss you-"

Kurt silenced him with a kiss, walking forwards until Blaine was pressed up against the sink. His hand fisted in Blaine's shirt as Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's back, pulling him in close and making his toes curl.

"You taste so damn good."

Blaine dragged his fingers through the back of Kurt's hair as his tongue eagerly slipped between his lips. Kurt pushed himself even closer, causing Blaine to fall back a bit and knock the hand soap off the counter.

Kurt pulled back, breathing heavily as spoke.

"We…uh….we should get back to the movie."

Blaine licked his lips and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't want Rachel and Mercedes to get…"

He found himself staring at Kurt's lips, only one delicious inch away.

"…suspicious."

Kurt smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before disentangling himself and leading Blaine back over to Rachel's room.

They opened the door and immediately froze. The movie was paused, the lights were on and Rachel and Mercedes were standing in the middle of the room, staring at them with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks. Kurt took a little side step away from Blaine.

"Wh- um…Why is the movie paused? You didn't have to wait for us."

Mercedes shrugged and crossed her arms with a laugh.

"Oh, no reason. Rachel and I just decided to do some…_talking_ while you two were away."

Rachel grinned and began walking very slowly towards Kurt.

"And you know, we realized…we never got properly introduced to your…"

She spun to look straight at Blaine.

"…Mystery Man."

Kurt froze, every single muscle in his body locking up. Within a split second, though, he had jumped back into action.

"I…uh…what? Blaine and I are…no. We are definitely not-"

Blaine watched as Kurt babbled on, red faced as he tried to explain everything away. He looked over at Rachel's certain gaze and then at Mercedes' confident smirk before shutting his eyes. Blaine took a deep breath, pausing for a second as he realized there was no way out and then he made the decision.

He reached out and took Kurt's hand in his own.

"Kurt."

The Cheerio whipped his head around, eyes full of panic as Blaine continued on.

"It's fine. They know."

Kurt looked utterly shocked, staring over at Blaine with his mouth hanging open.

"B-Blaine?"

He sighed and squeezed Kurt's hand, feeling a certain weight lift off of his shoulders as he explained the sudden change of heart.

"We knew we couldn't keep this a secret forever, I'm just glad that they were the ones who found out and not like, Finn or someone."

Kurt blinked a few times, regaining what was left of his composure before turning his head back around the glare at the girls.

"You cannot tell a _single_ person. Blaine had some…"

Kurt glanced back at him, and he nodded his approval.

"…trouble at his old school and he's not comfortable with coming out just yet."

Mercedes gave a sincere smile, happy for Kurt and Blaine.

"We won't. We promise."

Kurt flashed a quick grin before looking over at Rachel, eyeing her suspiciously as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Rachel?"

She gave a tight lipped nod without looking him in the eye.

"I promise"

Kurt let go of Blaine's hand to cross his arms and gave Rachel the classic 'bitch glare'.

"Rachel."

She shrugged, trying to sound innocent as she held her gaze on the floor.

"What? I said I promise!"

"Rachel, you tell a soul and I will burn _all_ of your sheet music."

She snapped her gaze up to him and gasped, a look of pure horror crossing her face.

"You wouldn't…"

Kurt just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I would."

Rachel spoke so fast in her haste to reply that her words ran together.

"I swear on Liza Minnelli's life I won't tell a soul about you and Blaine! There. Happy?"

Kurt laughed as he took hold of Blaine's hand and smiled back at him.

"Very."

Mercedes and Rachel squealed, the both of them fawning over the adorableness of the newfound couple. Blaine blushed, ducking his head as he held tighter to Kurt's hand.

"C'mon, Blaine."

Kurt gave Blaine a quick kiss on the cheek before leading him back over to their spot on the floor. They leaned up against the side of Rachel's bed, intertwining their hands as Blaine once again let his head rest on Kurt's shoulder.

"Ohmygod! You guys are so cute!"

Rachel was nearly jumping up and down as she watched the little scene play out so naturally and Mercedes just had her hands clasped together, beaming at the couple.

"So adorable!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at them.

"Are you guys gonna be like this for the rest of the night?"

Mercedes chuckled as she hit the lights and sat back down.

"Would you really expect any less?"

Rachel giggled as she took her seat on the floor and hit play. Within seconds Raoul was on screen and Blaine took his chance.

"He is so hot."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Well, I just figured I could say it now…"

The rest of them laughed and Rachel spun herself around to speak with Blaine.

"You know, Blaine, I'm actually really glad that you're gay. I don't think I would have had the heart to turn you down."

Blaine looked at Rachel awkwardly before smiling.

"Um…Thank you, Rachel, that's very…considerate of you"

Rachel nodded understandingly.

"I know. It's just…I'm a handful, you know?"

Kurt let out a little snort of a laugh and Rachel shot him a look.

"Shut up! I'm talking about my talent!"

Mercedes gave a skeptical grin.

"Mmmhmmm."

Rachel said nothing in response, but instead she slowly reached the popcorn bowl, took a hand full and, in one swift motion, chucked it at Mercedes. She grinned widely as Mercedes carefully plucked a piece of popcorn from her shirt and flicked it on the ground.

"Oh girl, you did not just do that."

"Funny, 'cause I think I…_did_."

Rachel's last word was punctuated by another hand full of popcorn thrown in her friend's direction. However, this time Mercedes just forced a smile, lightly licking her lips as she, too, took a hand full and threw it in Rachel's direction. The shorter girl anticipated the attack and ducked, causing Blaine to take the hit instead.

Kurt let out a thunderous laugh at Blaine's shocked expression and Blaine turned to him, not nearly as amused as he was.

"Oh, you thought that was funny?"

Kurt was still laughing as Blaine reached out, taking the entire popcorn bowl and dumping its contents onto Kurt's head and causing his laughter to stop cold. The girls let out an audible gasp.

"My. Hair."

Rachel broke the tension, giggling as she threw some popcorn at Kurt. He immediately got a handful of popcorn and threw it right back. Pretty soon everyone was throwing popcorn and laughing, but Rachel, as always, took it too far. She stuck her finger into a bowl and picked up some of the leftover butter. And then, as if she had a death wish, wiped it in Mercedes' hair.

"You got butter on my WEAVE!"

Before Kurt or Blaine could do anything to prevent it, Mercedes had jumped on top of Rachel. She wrestled her to the ground, shoving popcorn into her mouth and shouting;

"Eat the popcorn! Eat the popcorn!"

One of Rachel's dads nonchalantly walked into the room.

"Hey guys, everything o-…kay?"

Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes all immediately backed away. Rachel stood up, brushing herself off and spitting popcorn out of her mouth.

"Yep! Just messing around!"

She gave a huge smile and her dad just nodded slowly, backing out of the room and shutting the door with a soft click; everyone bursting into laughter the second he was gone.

* * *

Blaine: Hey!

Kurt: Hey! Lol. Youre texting me during class.

Blaine: Yes. Yes I am :) How are you?

Kurt: Great!

Well, now I am. :)

Blaine: :)

I swear all this lady does is talk.

Whats that face?

Kurt: Nothing. I just really missed this.

Whats *that* face?

Blaine: I just really did too. :)

* * *

The guys were all standing in a group in the hall when Puck smacked a fist against one of the lockers.

"This freaking sucks!"

Finn looked over at Puck, giving him a quick pat on the arm.

"Hey man, nothing's for sure, okay?"

Blaine crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

"Might as well be. There's no way we're winning Friday's game at this rate."

He shut his eyes and let his head fall back, yesterday's movie night had made him completely forget everything that was going on with the team, but now all of this junk was flooding back, every aggravation pronouncing itself loud and clear. He heard familiar footsteps and as he opened his eyes, a smile came over his face.

"Hey, Kurt."

Kurt gave him a smile back, getting used to Blaine's friendship in public once again.

"Hey."

Sam just groaned and slumped forwards, leaning so his forehead was up against the lockers.

"I feel like a pig waiting to be slaughtered!"

Kurt looked around and raised an eyebrow, finally noticing that each and every one of the guys seemed to have a dark cloud of doom looming over their heads.

"Why? What happened?"

Finn gave his brother a shortened version of their current issue.

"The guys think we're gonna lose the game Friday."

Kurt scrunched his brow, clearly confused.

"Wait, what? Why?"

Mike had a sort of pout on his face when he spoke.

"Karofsky."

Kurt heard that and had to take a deep breath, Karofsky's name making him feel sick to his stomach. The last time he had heard from the jock, he was drunkenly asking Kurt to go out with him.

"He's pretty much got the entire team divided."

Sam stayed in the same position, forehead resting against the cool metal.

"And a divided team means no team."

Puck crossed his arms, clearly getting more upset as the conversation continued.

"Which means we're gonna be the school jokes after we get our asses kicked tomorrow."

Finn tried to reason with them, but it was no use.

"C'mon guys. It's not _that_ bad. We can still pull it off."

Sam quickly flipped around to face Finn, scoffing at his optimism.

"That's easy for you to say."

A frown came over Finn's face as he looked towards Sam.

"What's that supposed to mean."

Sam shook his head.

"It means that maybe if you actually stepped up as a leader instead of standing by doing _nothing_, things wouldn't be this bad."

Finn took a step forwards, but Mike grabbed his arm, stopping things before they had a chance to begin.

"Guys, stop. We don't need to be turning against each other."

The pair of guys glared at each other a bit before Finn broke the stare and mumbled what could pass for an apology, Sam grudgingly doing the same. Kurt rolled his eyes at the tension between them, he was all to use to their little spats.

"So what are you guys gonna do?"

Blaine took in a deep breath through his mouth, shaking his head in a desperate attempt to figure it out but unable to get any words to actually surface. And, as if the fates were watching and just plotting the best way to screw up his day, Blaine saw Karofsky storming down the hall, heading straight towards the group.

"You sodomy sisters wanna stop blockin' the hallway?"

Karofsky made a point to shove his way through them, and as Sam's body making rough contact with his own; Blaine snapped. It was small and typical, but he was tired of all of it. And this was the very last straw.

He gripped tightly onto the strap hanging on his shoulder, glaring down the linoleum floors. The gears in his head were turning, until something finally clicked. He let his bag drop to the floor with a loud thud, speaking in a quiet growl.

"I've had enough."

He marched out into the middle of the hallway, taking his stance.

"Hey!"

Kurt up until now had been silent, but he didn't want Blaine to start a fight and he sure as hell didn't want Karofsky around him.

"Blaine, stop. Just let him go."

The short jock whipped his head back at Kurt, almost unsure if he actually heard those words from him. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the brute in front of him.

"You want somethin', homo?"

Blaine was a bomb, waiting to explode, his anger was boiling and that comment just brought him closer to the edge.

"Do you even realize what's going on? We're going to _lose_ tomorrow. Because of _you_! Because of you and these ridiculous rumors you're making up!"

Karofsky rolled his eyes before shooting a quick glare at Kurt, who froze in place, practically praying that neither of them would do anything stupid. He hadn't even realized a small crowd had built up until the large boy started to walk away from them, the Cheerio finally allowing himself to breathe again.

But Blaine was far from done. He needed this to be over with, to finally make this all stop so he could move on with his life. All the hard work he put into this new life, into starting over, into making new friends and keeping Kurt; this one guy stood in the way of all that.

"You don't want to settle this? Fine! Walk away like a coward!"

The crowd, who by now had suddenly and drastically increased in size, chanted out a small "ooooooh". Kurt still stood by the lockers, trying to stop this mess before anyone got hurt.

"Blaine. Leave him alone."

But Kurt's comment was lost when Karofsky suddenly turned back around, his jaw clenched.

"I'm not afraid of you, fag."

Blaine wasn't smirking, no semblance of easiness on his face as he practically snarled out his words.

"You keep throwing out those same words over and over again, but that just makes you the pathetic loser who got his ass kicked by someone as 'gay' as me."

Karofsky immediately became defensive, trying to come up with some sort of an excuse.

"You didn't kick my ass! You caught me off guard! If you weren't such a pussy and faced me like a real man, I would've destroyed you."

Triumph flashed across Blaine's face, it was just the challenge he had been looking for.

"Really? Prove it!"

Kurt called out, becoming increasingly worried as the tension skyrocketed.

"Blaine!"

Karofsky glanced over at Kurt and the Cheerio shook his head, the remembrance of their little agreement throwing the jock off guard.

_Don't you __dare__._

Karofsky looked back over to Blaine.

"W-what?"

Blaine nodded, taking a step or two towards Karofsky with his arms spread out wide.

"You think you're so tough? _Prove it_. Fair fight. Right here. Right now."

Karofsky glanced over at Kurt again.

"I…"

Kurt was still glaring daggers at Karofsky as he spoke to Blaine, his voice sounding like a warning.

"Blaine…"

The shorter jock was now standing right in front of Karofsky, staring him dead in the eye, his voice low and dangerous as he spoke the one thing he knew to be true.

"Or maybe you really are a coward."

Karofsky had nothing to say, no response or retort and Kurt intervened, knowing he had already let this get too far.

"Blaine! That's enough! Stop it!"

Karofsky grabbed onto whatever leverage he had.

"Yeah, listen to your boyfriend, Anderson!"

Blaine's face twisted as he shouted loud enough from the whole hall to hear.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

Blaine finally exploded, the time bomb going off as he let his fist fly, punching Karofsky right in the jaw. Karofsky used the momentum to his advantage, spinning around full circle, fist clenched as his hand smashed into Blaine's stomach, knocking the air out of him and making him double over in pain. Karofsky took his chance, not letting up anytime soon as he put his hands on Blaine's shoulders, kneeing him in the face. The shorter boy's head flew up from the force and he stumbled backwards until he was up against the lockers.

There was a huge crowd surrounding the two of them, egging them on, not caring who won or lost just so long as there was blood shed. Kurt was frantic, panicking as he looked to the guys for help, but they just shook their heads, shrugging; it wasn't their battle to fight.

Karofsky grabbed hold of Blaine's shirt, almost throwing him as he flung him towards the other wall, causing him to hit against the lockers with out loud bang. He was dazed, but he knew what was going on, he saw Karofsky walking towards him, feigning confusion as he prepared for the right moment. When Karofsky got close enough, Blaine kicked forward, giving Karofsky a harsh kick in the crotch and getting him to back off.

Kurt could see this was going nowhere; nothing good would come of it. No one was doing anything and he knew he would have to be the one to try and stop the fight.

Blaine watched as Karofsky stumbled backwards and he reeled back his arm, about to release a jaw crunching hit when Kurt jumped in, reaching out for Blaine to hold him back.

Kurt was fast, he knew what was coming, ducking Blaine's fist with no time to spare to avoid broken bones.

"Kurt!"

Blaine called out in horror at what could have almost happened, quickly pushing his boyfriend out of the way when he saw Karofsky prepare to dole out another blow. Blaine closed his eyes, waiting for the hit to make contact, but he felt hands wrap around his arms and tear him away.

Sue was blowing her whistle, kids already running from the hall. Mr. Schue had pulled him away just in time and Beiste had her arms around a vicious Karofsky.

It had happened in a blur, too fast for Blaine to even register what was happening before Sue was blowing her whistle again and shouting

"Figgins' office! _Now_!"

* * *

Twenty minutes of shouting, bargaining and pleading and Figgins let them off with just a warning. Sue was the first out of the room, angry that they hadn't been suspended and screaming her battle cry as she tore the books from some student's hands, pushing another into a locker as she stalked off through the hall. David was next, passing by Kurt without so much as a second glance. Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste left shortly after, joking around as the picked up the carnage of Sue's rage. Blaine was last, closing the door gently behind him as he readjusted the pack of ice on his cheekbone.

"Hey-"

Blaine just rolled his eyes and kept on walking right past Kurt.

"Blaine-"

He spun around, hurt in his eyes.

"You could have stood up for me back there. After all that guy has put you through, and you take his side?"

"What? Blaine, are you insane? I didn't take his side!"

"Really? Because definitely weren't on mine."

"You brought that fight on yourself! I told you-"

"Yeah and you just sat there and watched as he kicked the crap out of me!"

"I tried to stop him-"

"No. You tried to stop me. I-…"

He took a deep breath, the last thing he need _now_ was a fight with Kurt.

"Just…forget it. I'll see you later."

Kurt watched as Blaine made his way down the hall, pulling his Letterman jacket a bit tighter.

_I am __not__ wrong. He shouldn't have done that in the first place. And I didn't-_

But he did. He did just stand by. This entire time he had been standing by, letting Karofsky ruin Blaine life; ruin their relationship. And all this, just for the sake of Blaine's safety; just for the sake of something that happened anyways. And Kurt realized he had been kidding himself all along. He knew he couldn't out Karofsky, he could never do that to anyone. And he and Blaine went through all of that.

All for nothing.


	24. Chapter 24

**PLEASE READ!**

**Okay, so we're placing a trigger warning on the last (third) scene for minor sexual violence, so if you feel like you may be affected; please skip over it. We will place a summary of what happened in it in the end note.**

**Also, please know this is something we've wanted to do since the beginning and we really hope you don't hate us for it. We've debated back and forth about putting the third scene in here, fearful of the feedback we may get, but at the end of the day; this is **_**our**_** story. We really hope you understand that. Just know that we love you all and that it definitely will NOT get any worse than this. We promise.**

**Enjoy and thank you for all your love and support.**

Chapter 24

_Fourth quarter. Third down. One minute left in the game. Down by four. The teams take their positions. The crowd becomes a muffled roar. Everything seems to slow. The whistle blows. Finn takes the ball. Adrenaline is rushing. Fifty yards from the end zone. Feet pound on the grass. Forty yards. Finn narrowly misses being sacked. Thirty yards. Sweat pours down his forehead. Twenty. Another close call with defense. Ten. The rest of the world quiets. _

_Touchdown._

* * *

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Yeah!"

A loud cheer erupted from the drunken crowd as Blaine finished his keg stand and fell down, stumbling and trying to catch his balance. The game against their rival school had been won and differences had been forgotten; the only thing that anyone cared about now was ingesting as much booze as humanly possible before the end of the night.

Blaine found his footing, but only for a second. He fell forwards, face planting to the ground with a loud 'thud'. A hush fell over the crowd, all of them waiting in anticipation to see if he had died or something. Blaine suddenly jumped up, throwing his hands into the air.

"I'm good!"

They cheered for him once more and Blaine gave them a big smile, stumbling forwards to fill a cup up with beer. This was, by far, one of the crazier after-parties that the football team had ever thrown. It _started_ with just the team and the Cheerios and about an hour in, had turned into about half of the school; all of them happy and drunk as they celebrated with almost every alcohol known to man.

Loud music thrummed throughout the house, red plastic cups, empty beer cans and bottles of liquor littering the floor. Some of the more promiscuous girls were letting loose out in the living room, meanwhile Stoner Brett and a few of his friends stumbled out of a bedroom; smoke billowing out when they opened the door. There were couples all over the room, practically mauling each other in sexual frustration, while some of the tamer students, freshmen, decided to play seven minutes in heaven. Over on the dining room table Artie was doing a body shot off of Brittany's stomach, everyone cheering loudly as he knocked back some tequila.

Blaine nodded his head in time with the music while he surveyed his insane surroundings, taking a drink of beer as he spotted Puck and Sam doing a huge chest bump. He giggled a bit, watching as Sam fell and Mike had to stumble over and pick him up, which really only resulted in Mike falling over as well.

He let his gaze drift on until he spotted Santana crying with a bottle of raspberry vodka in hand.

Blaine's vision was fuzzy and he almost tripped over his own feet as he headed over to Santana, her sniffles slowing when he put a hand on her arm.

"Hey, you oka-"

Without warning she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him forward and slipping her tongue through his lips. Alcohol was flowing through his veins, his judgment hazy while the beat of the music pounded on him like a drum.

He was confused when Santana pulled him even closer, not really sure what was happening, and even more confused because it actually…felt good. He wasn't even sober enough to realize that he should have said 'no' when Santana pulled him over to the couch.

She set her bottle down on the floor before taking Blaine's drink, knocking the rest of it back and then throwing the empty cup somewhere on the ground. She pushed him down onto the couch and then crawled onto his lap, placing one leg on each side of him.

She was incredibly forward, kissing without abandon as she eagerly ran her hands over his torso before once again wrapping them around his neck. Blaine went along with it, his eyebrow scrunching a bit when she took hold of his hand and placed it on her ass. He squeezed tightly, his other hand making its way up to her chest as he instinctively bucked his hips up against hers. A moan escaped her lips and she leaned forwards, whispering in his ear.

"How about we take this upstairs?"

A goofy smile plastered itself onto Blaine's face; barely aware of what he was even saying.

"Surrrre!"

She smiled and stood up, the music getting quieter as she pulled him up the stairs to the second floor. Santana had one hand on Blaine's ass and the other on a doorknob when Kurt walked out of the upstairs bathroom.

"Blaine?"

All of his attention switched over to Kurt, his face lighting up with a dumb, dopey smile when he saw his boyfriend.

"Oh hey, Kuurt!"

Kurt glared down at the hand on Blaine's butt.

"What are you doing?"

Blaine's brow scrunched.

"Uh…Santana…I think…"

The edge of his mouth twitched up in a slight smile but Kurt just looked disgusted. Blaine felt when Santana's hand left him and he looked over to see that she was already making out with Brittany; drunkenly walking _her_ into the upstairs bedroom instead.

Blaine shrugged and headed for Kurt who, with a quick glance around to make sure the coast was clear, pulled him into a nearby bathroom.

"Blaine-"

"Kurt, you're so cuutteee."

Blaine put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, leaning forwards to speak right into his face and Kurt gagged at the smell of his breath, bringing a hand up to cover his nose.

"Jesus! How much have you been drinking?"

"Uh…not sure. Kinda losht count."

Blaine laughed, putting his other hand on Kurt's shoulder and burying his head into Kurt's collar; slurring his words as he spoke.

"Can you believe I jus' made out with _Santana_? She's a _girrrl_! But it felt _reaalllyy_ good!"

Blaine snorted a bit, holding on tighter to his boyfriend. Kurt took him by the shoulders, lightly pushing him off and receiving a look of confusion. Kurt looked him in the eyes, trying to get his attention.

"That's because you're _drunk_, Blaine."

The handle of the door twisted a bit and Kurt immediately stuck his hand out, clicking the lock on the knob to keep it closed.

"Occupied!"

Blaine toppled forwards a bit, nearly falling onto Kurt and putting both hands on his chest.

"I'm not drunk. I jus' had a few drinksh. It's a party, Kurrrt. C'mon. Kiss me."

Kurt shook his head.

"No."

There was knocking on the door as the same person tried to get in.

"Somebody's in here!"

Heavy footsteps moved away from the door. Blaine tilted his head to the side, placing a hand on Kurt's cheek and moving his lips even closer. The stench of his breath was heavy and Kurt had to turn his face away.

"Oh c'mon. You're not still mad at me for that fight, are you? I said I was sorry. I thought we agreed to let it _gooo_."

He slid his other hand down to Kurt's hip.

"No, I'm not still mad but-"

Blaine had both hands on Kurt's hips now and his lips were dangerously close.

"Then kiss me. Please?"

He squeezed Kurt's hips and whispered right into his ear, a few of his fingers dipping below Kurt's waistband.

"Did I ever tell you how hot your ass looks like these Cheerio pants? Because-"

Kurt roughly shoved Blaine away from him, completely repulsed.

"Can you stop it?! I'm not in the mood, Blaine!"

The shorter boy was dazed to say the least, suddenly very confused.

"Jesus, why are you yelling?"

Kurt put a hand against his forehead, too tired and too annoyed to deal with this right now.

"Because nothing else seems to work with you, Blaine! And what made you think that I would be okay with you hooking up with Santana? _Especially_ after everything we talked about, after you _promised_ me you would break up with her?"

Blaine put his hand on the counter, swaying back and forth a bit as he stared down at the floor. His brain finally processed what Kurt had said, eyes blinking a few times as a look of guilt came over his face.

"Oh. Oops."

Kurt looked at him for a second, arms crossed, and the tiniest bit of amusement peeked through.

"Yeah, '_Oops_.'"

He rolled his eyes and stepped around Blaine to walk out of the bathroom. Blaine stumbled as he turned around, trying to keep up with Kurt's pace as he followed him out like a lost puppy.

"Kurt? Kurt, where are you going?"

Blaine tried to catch up with Kurt but he was caught off guard when another Cheerio grabbed him by his Letterman jacket and pushed him up against the wall, kissing without permission.

Kurt went downstairs, ignorant of Blaine's latest escapades, music getting louder with every step he took closer to the first floor. He felt utterly exasperated, not just at Blaine, but at everything.

He knew he wasn't _mad_. After all, Blaine was drunk and people do stupid things when they're drunk; things that they'd rather forget in the morning. He just couldn't handle him right now. He couldn't handle _any_ of this; not the trashed house, or the deafening music and _especially_ not the drunken teenagers.

The second the whistle had blown signaling the end of the game his mood had grown progressively worse, his head filled with a festering migraine that was only amplified by the obnoxiously pumping backbeat. Every little thing was setting him off and he couldn't stand it anymore; he just wanted to go home and sleep it off.

After wading through a sea of smashed, hormonal teenagers, he found Finn holding a soda. Probably the only one besides himself who wasn't completely plastered. Finn spotted him and put a hand on his shoulder, leaning forwards so he could be heard over the music.

"Hey bro, you alright?"

Kurt shrugged, looking back over at the staircase and hoping that he would see Blaine stagger down the stairs any second.

"I'm fine, just…_really_ don't want to be here."

Finn raised his eyebrows.

"You wanna go home? _Now?_"

They had come to the party together, which meant in order for Kurt to leave, Finn would have to leave. Finn looked almost panicked, taking his hand off of Kurt's shoulder and using it to gesture as he spoke.

"I mean, usually I'd be cool with that it's just…this is our victory party, man! Do you know how long it's been since McKinley High had a reason to throw a victory party?!"

Finn's over excitement seemed to completely pass by Kurt, he couldn't have cared _less_. However, the Cheerio quickly realized this was a battle he was just going to lose. He took a deep breath, grimacing as he looked back around the room.

"It's fine. I'll just go sit over on the couch by the mound of drunkards that have already passed out and wait for you. Maybe it will be a little quieter over there."

"Aw c'mon, Kurt. It's a party. Have some fun!"

Finn gave him a pat on the back and Kurt lurched forwards a bit, forcing a tight smile before walking away. He found space on an empty couch, sitting down and fixing his hair a bit as he tried to get himself out of the sour mood he was in.

_Finn's right. This is supposed to be fun. I need to enjoy myself, maybe this isn't so bad._

He glanced over just in time to see a football player puke into a potted plant.

_Who am I kidding? I just want to go __home__. _

He resigned himself to an aggravating night of loud music as he looked; actually he glared, around the room, rolling his eyes at the various displays of stupidity. He settled his gaze on two guys who had just begun to argue, one of them completely convinced that the other had stolen his drink.

They were now moving onto fisticuffs, both of them deciding to throw a punch at the exact same moment and simultaneously knocking the other out. One of the guys crashed into a lamp and it fell over, a look of panic crossing Brett's face when he saw the light fixture crack.

Kurt would have laughed had a couple not just collapsed on the space next to him, the pair of them looking in desperate need of a condom.

He took a deep breath, using all his will power to keep himself calm. But then he spotted Blaine stumbling down the stairs with a Cheerio clothed in only a bra and skirt; seemingly having 'misplaced' the rest of her uniform. Blaine threw his arms in the air, shouting loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Best! Party! Ever! WOO!"

He slipped down the last few stairs, drunk and happy, laughing the whole way. He finally stood; wobbling as someone stuck another drink in his hand. The goofy jock then spotted Kurt, looking cantankerous and uncomfortable. But Blaine's face was still bright as he walked over, clearly having forgotten the conversation they just had a few minutes ago.

"Hi, Khurt!"

He plopped himself down on the couch right next to him, the other couple finally having the good sense to go find somewhere a little more…private.

Blaine turned to him, drink in hand, and all Kurt could do was glare, not wanting to say anything because he knew it wouldn't end well. Everything was far too chaotic and he was on the verge of losing whatever patience he had left. Blaine looked at him through half lidded eyes, his words slurring even worse than before.

"Youh ohkaye? Wha's wrongg?"

Kurt glanced over at him before crossing his legs and mumbling his words.

"You mean beside you making out with girls all night?"

Blaine's face dropped but then immediately lightened back up. He leaned forwards, placing his free hand on Kurt's knee and whispering in his ear.

"_I'd much ratheur be mahking out whith you._"

Kurt rolled his eyes again and shoved Blaine's hand off of his leg; he had never been _less _attracted to his boyfriend. But the jock didn't seem to realize that as he leaned forwards again, holding out his drink as a peace offering.

"Aww, Kurt. C'mon. I don't like seein' you allll grumppy. Smiilleee. Pleeease? Have a drink with me."

Kurt didn't even look over at Blaine.

"No."

"C'mon. Just a sip. It'll make you feeel better. I feel greahtt."

Blaine moved the drink up closer to his boyfriend and Kurt turned to him, his eyes a piercing and livid shade of blue.

"I'll pass. _Thank you_."

Blaine sloppily tossed his free arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Oh come onnn. It's just one drink. It's not like it's gonna kill youuu."

Blaine moved the cup right up to Kurt's lips.

"I said no!"

Kurt smacked the drink out of Blaine's hand, immediately standing up and leaving Blaine to fall over on the couch where he had been previously leaning on the cheerleader's body. He pushed himself up, looking at his boyfriend, completely shocked and hurt; he thought he had been helping.

Kurt took a deep breath, smoothing out his uniform as he tried to regain his composure.

"I…I think I'm just gonna go."

He turned before he saw Blaine's reaction, pushing through the crowd of people to get to the nearest exit and then he left the party.

* * *

Cool night air splashed across Kurt's face and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath now that everything didn't reek of alcohol. Even after closing the sliding glass door behind him the bass line could still be heard, now just a muffled, repetitive beat vibrating the ground in otherwise silent surroundings.

He opened his eyes, the full moon casting shadows everywhere as he tried to figure out where his exit had taken him. The backyard it seemed, one of those endless yards that led off into the woods with no actual fence surrounding the property.

His mood seemed to calm a bit, his migraine starting to subside, his shoulders starting to ease up. But a bitter feeling still stuck with him.

_Why did I even come here in the first place?_

Another gust of wind hit him and he pulled his Cheerios jacket closer; his head, along with the ringing in his ears, beginning to clear. If there was ever a night he regretted being a cheerleader, tonight was definitely it.

He blinked his eyes a few times, the day's exhaustion finally getting the better of him. A chill ran down his spine as the cold set in and he pulled out his phone to text Finn, already having decided that the twenty minute walk back to their house was significantly better than waiting here for his brother to want to go home.

Kurt: Walking home. Don't wait up for me.

The beat of the music was still going strong and he let out a small sigh. He shoved his phone back into his jacket pocket as he turned, deciding to walk around the side of the house instead of trying to fight his way back through the party.

_I wonder if Blaine will even remember any of this…_

He turned the corner, walking down the side yard with his head lowered and hands in his pockets.

"You just think you're so freakin' special, don'tchu."

Kurt's head shot up and he stopped cold, his back stiffening at the sound of Karofsky's all too familiar voice. The brute was a few feet away from him, merely a figure in the shadows that the house cast. He swayed a bit, foot shifting and hand going up against the wall to keep his balance, his other hand occupied by a half empty bottle of whiskey. Kurt was immediately on edge when he saw the glint of the glass bottle, a sick feeling swelling inside him as he watched the amber liquid swish back and forth.

He took an unsteady breath, trying to keep calm even though every fiber of his being was telling him to run.

"I don't want you near me."

But Karofsky stumbled towards him anyways, feet uncoordinated as he walked across the grass. Kurt could only stand and watch as he got closer, too petrified to do anything more. His eyes were the only thing moving as he watched Karofsky lift the hand with the bottle and poke him hard in the chest, causing a bit of liquor to splash onto his uniform.

"With your…stupid uniform…stupid _boyfriend_…"

Kurt held his breath as Karofsky's face moved in, his stomach tightening at the stench of the alcohol. He closed his eyes, completely silent, hands clenching and unclenching in his pockets as he tried to stay calm. He stared into Karofsky's eyes but the expression on his face was nearly unreadable, deranged and twisted from intoxication.

Kurt took a small breath so he could speak, but his voice cracked a bit as he watched Karofsky take a quick swig of whiskey and he only managed to squeak out a few words.

"Leave me alone."

Karofsky wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, giving Kurt a cold glare.

"And I'm just not good enough for a special little fairy like you, am I? Am I?!"

With his last couple words Karofsky reached forwards with his empty hand, his rage finally breaking through to the surface as he pushed Kurt roughly, forcing him to stumble backwards. He was caught off guard, bumping into one of the metal garbage cans set up against the side of the house and almost making it fall over. Kurt's throat tightened, fear closing in on him as regained his balance.

"Leave me alone, David!"

Kurt tried to turn and run, tried to save himself, but Karofsky had already grabbed his arm; iron clad grip dragging Kurt towards him.

"Don't ignore me, you faggot!"

He was mere _inches_ from Kurt's face, screaming at him as Kurt tried to turn his head away, eyes closed as he held back tears. A brief look of what could only be described as drunken lust flashed across Karofsky's face and he leaned forwards, pulling Kurt closer, trying to kiss him.

Kurt opened his eyes just in time and he panicked, heart pounding loudly in his ears as he used all of his strength to shove Karofsky away with a shaking hand; his voice nearly a shriek as he yelled.

"Get away from me!"

Karofsky was completely wasted, too drunk to react properly; unable to regain his balance and unable to let go of Kurt's arm in time. They fell to the ground, both landing on their backs, the bottle of whiskey falling from Karofsky's grasp and breaking on a sharp rock hidden in the grass. There was a single second of dead silence after the bottle's crash, and in that second so much happened.

Kurt's eyes locked with Karofsky's, a sense a terror shaking him to the core as he saw something shift, something _change_.

Whatever this man, this jock, this _thing_ was lying next to him, it wasn't Karofsky; not anymore. The closeted bully was now warped by intoxication, deranged and hedonistic. An animal. An animal Kurt had barely gotten a glimpse of on the other end of that drunk dial. And now it was lying next to him, savage and unpredictable.

Kurt saw it in his eyes; he saw the change, all within a second.

And he had to get away.

Before Kurt's mind could fully process what was going on, his body had already kicked into action as he tried to get up and run, but that thing, that thing that could no longer be called Karofsky, was moving _solely_ on animalistic instinct, already having turned over himself and sat on top of Kurt, one leg on each side on his body.

"Look at you! You think you're better than me, huh?! What?! Because you can shake some damn pompoms? Not so tough now are you?! _Are you?!_"

Kurt wasn't listening; he wasn't focused on the raging mass holding him down, but on a way to escape. He looked around frantically, head whipping this way and that as he looked for something, _anything _to help himself. Moonlight glinted off the broken bottle of whiskey, its neck still intact; the bottom half the only shattered part. If he could just grab what was left of the bottle, if he could just get it into his grasp then maybe he could use it as a weapon, maybe he could free himself-

But the monster sitting on top of him saw what he was reaching for and grabbed his arm, lifting himself up a bit to flip Kurt over onto his stomach before sitting back down.

Everything suddenly went dead silent, Kurt holding his breath as he laid there immobile. Terror began to build in the pit of his stomach as the seconds ticked by, unknowing and unable to do anything, his body completely at the mercy to the raging drunk currently sitting on top of him.

_Oh god. Is he going to kill me?_

The brute pressed his hands down on Kurt's shoulders, quiet as he knelt on the back of Kurt's legs. The only thing Kurt could do was lay there, face pressed into the grass, tortured by the uncertainty. As the silence dragged on, his breathing became harsh and ragged and a horrifying sense of dread came over him.

He felt the inebriated jock above him shift a bit, and then he began to slide his hands down Kurt's back, moving at a torturously slow speed. A chill ran down Kurt's back and every part of him froze, his mind going blank as he began to hyperventilate. Between frantic breaths he managed to choke out a few terrified words.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Kurt felt his hands slither down his sides, grasping his hips while a few fingers slipped underneath his shirt. Kurt bit back a scream when he felt the rough, calloused hands on his skin. The brute then began to lower himself, leaning down until he his front was almost flush to Kurt's back. Kurt closed his eyes, jaw clenched as he tried to push himself into the ground, dirty uniform be damned, he just had to get away.

The monster above him leaned his head down to Kurt's neck, dragging his nose along the skin there and taking in a deep, long breath; as if to commit the scent to memory. Kurt's whole body was shaking, a single tear escaping as the jock turned his head ever so slightly, lips just brushing against Kurt's ear with breath that still smelled like whiskey, his voice raw and scratchy as he spoke.

"Oh god, you turn me _on_."

His last word was punctuated by a small thrust of his hips and Kurt's eyes shot open, a shriek escaping from his lips. His silent exterior shattered, snapped away completely to reveal the panic he had been trying to control. The brute sat back up, his hands immediately going to the hem of Kurt's shirt.

"Wh…What are you doing?! Stop!"

Tears began to fall when he yanked the fabric up, revealing Kurt's lower back and he cringed as the cold night air hit his exposed skin. Kurt screamed when he felt the lewd monster put his hands underneath the shirt. Tears, hot and salty, streaked down Kurt's cheeks as his hands moved around; underneath him to the front of his torso, creeping their way down to his stomach, invading, unwelcome and unrelenting all the same. Kurt began to kick and scream, twisting this way and that, struggling as he tried to get those hands off of him.

"David?! David, stop! What- What are you doing to me?! Stop!"

Kurt refused to keep still, using every ounce of his rapidly depleting energy to fight back. The drunken fiend began to struggle as well, unable to do anything until finally, he had enough. He reached forwards and grabbed a fistful of Kurt's hair, moving himself back a bit so he could yank Kurt up into a kneeling position. He snaked a hand around Kurt's waist, pulling him close. Kurt's head was held back at a harsh angle, neck completely exposed and tears in his eyes as he looked back; a breathless whimper falling from his trembling lips.

"_Please._"

The crazed jock leaned forwards a bit; hand drifting down Kurt's torso as he slowly pressed his hips firmly up against Kurt, hissing in his ear.

"_Relax._"

He slammed Kurt back down onto the ground.

"NO!"

Sobs began to wrack his body, screams ripping themselves from his throat, muscles straining as he tried to push himself up with whatever strength he had left, desperate to get away and keep this horror from happening.

"No! Help me! Someone! Please!"

He had twisted his upper torso around, almost facing up to the night sky when he felt a hand clamp over his mouth.

"Would you keep quiet?!"

Kurt chomped down on soft flesh, the monster pulling his hand away quickly with a curse before delivering a sharp slap to Kurt's cheek.

Kurt's face smacked against the ground and he started gasping for air, hysterical as he tried to breathe again. The moment he regained some sort of control over himself he went right back into fight or flight. He began to scream bloody murder, his throat in pain and torn raw from his ear-splitting shrieks. But he kept going, not willing to give up.

"Help! _Help_! Someone! Someone help me! Please! Oh god please!"

But his voice was lost in the deafening thrum of the party's music, everyone completely ignorant of Kurt as he struggled, cold and alone, deathly afraid of what was happening to him.

"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY! _PLEASE! _RA-"

But before Kurt could finish his cry, the barbarous jock grabbed him by the throat and smashed his face into the dirt.

"SHUT UP!"

The cheerleader spit some of the soil from his mouth and then began to claw at the grass, his desperation drastically increasing as his fingers dug into the ground. He didn't even try to push himself up again; he knew he didn't have the strength, he just kept grasping at nothing, frantically reaching out for something to hold onto.

Kurt felt as those invasive hands moved lower, winding down to his pants, fingers only just gracing his waistband before traveling lower until they grasped his ass and he felt a whole new wave of hysteria come over himself. The only thought on his mind was just how _easy_ it was for his uniform pants to slip off, how with a small tug of the fabric the last barrier protecting him would be gone in an instant, leaving him vulnerable and open. How this uniform was supposed to be a fortress, supposed to make him _invincible_, but tonight, it felt more like some sick curse.

The small boy could feel his heartbeat vibrating against the ground; it was pounding hard, _too_ hard. He knew had to get away. He had to stay strong and keep fighting and save himself. But he had been ignoring what his body had been telling him. He had been ignoring the pain he felt every time he took a breath, ignoring his strength slowly slipping away, ignoring the utter physical and mental exhaustion that was slowly taking over.

And he couldn't ignore it any longer.

He couldn't ignore it when his voice became too hoarse for him to yell above a whisper.

He couldn't ignore it when he no longer had the strength or the energy to fight.

He couldn't ignore it when his body couldn't handle the stress anymore, when his body started to fail him.

"No. No! _Please, no_!"

His muscles began to let go, his own body betraying him and leaving him defenseless. The fight, the struggle; it all slowly drained out of him, a sense of despair taking its place. The wicked animal above him immediately took notice and he seemed to slow down, taking his time, savoring this moment as his hands palmed at Kurt's butt through the fabric of his pants and a rough moan escaped from his lips.

Karofsky had taken everything from him. All of these precious firsts; his first kiss, his first relationship and now, if something didn't stop this, his first time. Stolen. Gone. Ripped away from him without so much as a single thought for him or his well being.

_It can't end like this…_

His body was sprawled out across the cold, hard ground, every bit of strength gone, every ounce of hope having vanished. It was quieter, now that Kurt hadn't the energy to scream. The sound of the jock's zipper pierced clearly through the silence and caused Kurt to cringe. He wanted to puke, hushed tears slipping down his cheeks as he choked out one last plea.

"_Don't do this_…_Please…_"

His body finally surrendered completely, forcing him to accept his fate. He let his eyes close, immediately feeling as though a massive weight had been lifted off of him.

Until he realized that it actually had.

Karofsky was no longer sitting on him, but Kurt didn't even care why as he curled into himself, pulling his knees to his chest as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

He was still a bit dazed, looking up when he heard grunts of pain. Through hazy eyes Kurt saw a figure sitting on top of Karofsky, throwing blow after blow into his face, each hit harder and more excruciating than the last. He granted one final punch and Karofsky's body went limp on the ground. The figure stood, turning his attention to Kurt as he ran over.

"Kurt!"

He looked up from the ground, reaching out a hand as he spoke, his voice soft and worn out.

"Blaine…?"

Blaine got down on the ground and took Kurt in his arms, drawing him close, smoothing his hair as he pulled Kurt up into his lap.

"_I'm here_."

The moment Kurt felt the reassuring, gentle warmth of Blaine's loving touch something snapped within him. Everything that had just happened came rushing back to him in an instant and his hands clenched in Blaine's shirt, holding on for dear life as sobs wracked his whole body, his cries almost screams as he buried his face in Blaine's chest.

Blaine held him tighter, if that was even possible, tears now streaking down his own cheeks as he tried to comfort his boyfriend.

"God, Kurt! I'm so sorry!"

Kurt moved his head, looking up at Blaine, his eyes full of pain as he tried to speak.

"B- Blaine I-…"

He tucked his head back into Blaine's neck; unable to finish his thought before tears overcame him. Blaine dried his eyes and tried to keep himself calm for Kurt's sake, his heart breaking with each horrifying cry that Kurt let out. He rubbed Kurt's back, brushed at his hair, tried to help him through this.

"Shhh…It's okay. It's okay, I'm here. It's all over. I…I'm so sorry."

Blaine waited a few minutes for Kurt to quiet a bit, all the while whispering gentle words and softly rocking him back and forth. Kurt was finally calm enough, he was still crying, but he was no longer sobbing, only shaking slightly against Blaine, half of it from the cold, the other half from sheer exhaustion.

"Come on. Let's get you home."

Blaine went to loosen Kurt's hands from his shirt but he only held tighter, pulling himself closer to Blaine, curling himself smaller around Blaine's body.

"_Kurt, I have to get you home. You need to help me out here._"

Kurt's voice was small and shaky, barely audible.

"…_Okay._"

Blaine took Kurt's hands, wrapping them around his neck. Blaine put one hand under Kurt's legs and the other under his back, pausing a moment before he did anything else.

"I'm gonna pick you up now, hold tight onto my neck, 'kay?"

Kurt gave the smallest nod and Blaine struggled to stand up, stumbling because, even though this whole ordeal had sobered him up quite a bit, he was still pretty drunk. The sudden lurch startled Kurt and he almost lost his grip on Blaine, a new wave of tears coming fresh to his eyes.

"Shh…It's okay. It's okay, Kurt. I'm here. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

He began to walk, not even glancing down at Karofsky who was still lying unconscious in the grass. Kurt's tears kept coming, silent with the occasional hiccup or shuttering intake of breath where he momentarily held stronger to his boyfriend. Blaine had to make Kurt feel better, had to make the tears stop. It killed him to see Kurt so…_broken_ and he had to do something to make him feel at least the tiniest bit better.

With his feet a steady beat to keep time to he began to hum _All I Ask of You_, the first tune that came to mind. His soft hums turned to lyrics as he tried his best to remember the words. He was still fuzzy from the alcohol but he was pretty sure he was skipping the girl's parts of the song. He stumbled through two verses before happening upon a chorus, quickly realizing that he had skipped the first one. His singing was a jumbled mess, but it was warm and calming as his voice reverberated through his chest. Blaine stopped singing when he realized Kurt's sudden cries and hiccups had silenced, Blaine's feet padding along the sidewalk once again the only noise.

He looked down at Kurt, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even, the stress of today finally catching up with him and pulling him down into slumber. Kurt's mouth was open just the smallest bit, soft puffs of breath regularly hitting Blaine's neck. It was those soft little puffs of breath, that sound of just Kurt breathing, in and out, in and out, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, that kept Blaine going. He listened intently, focusing on Kurt to distract from the pain forming in his feet.

Kurt was still sound asleep when Blaine rang the doorbell, not even stirring when Carole opened the door, a look of surprise on her face.

"Blaine?"

Her eyes went to the sleeping boy in his arms.

"Kurt!"

She reached out a hand but Blaine instinctively took a step back, still over protective as he held Kurt just out of arms length. Carole pulled her hand back, confusion and worry etched in every line on her face. Blaine took a deep breath, looking down at Kurt's face. He shut his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying again before looking up at Carole.

"H-He's had a rough night. Can I, uh…can I go tuck him in?"

"Sure."

She opened the door wide and stepped to the side so Blaine could get in, speaking as he passed by.

"Do you need a ride home?"

He paused briefly before walking up the stairs.

"Yes, please. That'd be great."

He made it to Kurt's room, nudging the door open with his foot. Now that they were in the safety of the house, Blaine stared to feel his own fatigue; arms aching as he pulled back the covers on Kurt's bed and laid him down. Kurt still clung to Blaine, face scrunching up in his sleep when he felt the loss of warmth.

Blaine lightly kissed him on the forehead, holding on to Kurt's hands and gently pulling on them until he finally let go. He went into Kurt's bathroom, grabbing two hand towels and running one underneath some warm water. He came back, pulling off Kurt's shoes before sitting down next to him on the bed. He took the wet cloth, lightly wiping his face to get rid of the dirt before moving down to get the worst of the grime off of his uniform. He took the other hand towel and dried him before tossing both into the nearby hamper.

Blaine reached forwards, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Kurt's ear just as Carole cracked the door.

"Are you ready to go, hun?"

Blaine turned to look at her, glancing down at Kurt as he spoke.

"Yeah, just…can I have a minute?"

She nodded and quietly closed the door.

Blaine let his fingers trail over Kurt's face, his brow, his nose, his cheek, his lips. He somehow looked so peaceful and at ease in spite everything that had just happened. Blaine wasn't even quite sure _what_ had happened.

"_I…I'm so sorry, Kurt_."

He pressed another kiss to Kurt's forehead, tears swelling in his eyes. He needed Kurt to know. Needed him to know that he was there, that he didn't ignore him or leave him. That he would _never_ leave him. That he would _always_ be there for him, to protect him, to keep him safe no matter what.

An idea finally struck him. A few minutes later, Carole poked her head back in, asking Blaine if he was ready. He gave her a tearful nod and a small smile, reaching back to leave a small touch on Kurt's cheek before getting up to go.

* * *

**For those of you who skipped the third scene, here's a brief overview of what went on:**

**After leaving the party Kurt finds himself outside in the backyard and decides to walk home instead of waiting for Finn. He walks around the side of the house when he sees Karofsky, drunk off of half a bottle of whiskey. After some shouting and pushing, Kurt ends up on the ground, laying his stomach with Karofsky sitting on top of him on the back of his legs. Karofsky feels Kurt up a bit, with the intention of sexually assaulting him and after a while Kurt's muscles give out from the exhaustion and stress of struggling against Karofsky. Karofsky doesn't get very far, though, no clothing is even removed by the time Blaine shows up. Blaine beats Karofsky up to the point of unconsciousness, and then carries Kurt home.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Holy jebus. Over 200 reviews and 300 followers. Just…ohmygod…THANK YOU! Also, so many thank yous to the wonderful feedback we got for our last chapter. You have no idea what it means to us to read your reviews. We literally fangirl over your reviews. Like, we get **_**really**_** excited! xD So just, thank you so much for taking your time to read and review our fic. It means a lot :')**

**On a side note, a friend of ours (Ijustcantseemtofigureitin) is currently writing a fic of her own. She's pretty far along, but you guys should totally check it out! :) **

**Okie dokie! Four more chapters to go. Oh god it feels weird saying that. Lol. But yeah, enjoy :)**

Chapter 25

Soft, Saturday morning light peeked through Kurt's window, gently stirring him from one of the deepest nights of sleep he had ever gotten. His eyes were still closed as he took a deep breath; the sweet, musky scent of Blaine's cologne filling his nose.

"Blaine…?"

His head rolled to the left, eyes slowly blinking open as he lazily reached out a hand, searching for his boyfriend.

Only, he wasn't there.

"Blaine?"

Still full of sleep, he pushed himself up a bit, leaning back on his elbows as he checked his surroundings. But there was still no sight of him, just his scent; and Kurt could have sworn he felt his arms around him.

He looked down, a warm grin spreading across his face. He felt his heart tighten when he saw he was wearing Blaine's Letterman jacket; red polyester and gold pleather sleeves covering him. He brought up a hand to his mouth, falling back on the bed as he laughed, all the while holding back tears.

Kurt shut his eyes and rolled over on his side, bringing his knees up to his chest as he hugged himself tightly with the jacket, savoring the warmth, the smell and, most of all, the undeniable and overwhelming feeling of comfort and calm it brought him.

"Ow!"

His brow scrunched and he turned, lying on his back again as he held his left arm out above him, searching for the offending object that pricked his finger. There was a glimmer of metal; a straight pin from Kurt's work desk had been poorly slid through the jacket, holding a small note with only a few, simple words on it.

_Here if you need me._

_-B_

* * *

Kurt arrived at the park, stepping out of his car and pulling Blaine's jacket closer around himself. He spotted his boyfriend, sitting on one of the park benches and impatiently checking his watch.

"Hey."

Blaine turned around, a soft smile on his face and two cups in his hands.

"I, uh, I brought coffee."

Kurt smiled back at him, but it was a broken smile that didn't reach his eyes. Blaine's throat closed up, pain swelling in his heart as he walked over and handed Kurt his drink. Kurt took the cup, playing with the rim and the few droplets of coffee that had managed to spill out onto the lid, his voice soft as he stared down at his drink.

"Thank you."

There was something more behind that thank you, a small bit of warmth and gratitude in Kurt's eyes when he looked back up. Blaine smiled again, fighting every urge to take Kurt's hand and kiss him and hold him and just tell him that everything would be alright. But he didn't know how Kurt would take it, what emotions it might bring back from last night, so instead he just put his free hand in his pocket.

"I-I know a place that's a bit more…private. We can go there and talk. I-if you want."

Kurt pursed his lips for a second, nodding tightly before taking a small sip of coffee. They began to walk down the path, Kurt silent and withdrawn, one hand holding his coffee, the other hand deep in his pocket. He didn't look up until they got to the small field, a flash of recognition in Kurt's eyes when he realized this was the same spot where the carriage had sat during Lights of Lima, the same spot where Blaine had asked him to be his boyfriend.

They took a seat on a bench near the side of the clearing. Kurt sat with the coffee in his lap, both hands wrapped around the cup, silent as he stared off into space. Blaine set his almost empty cup on the seat next to him and then went to brush some hair back from Kurt's face but he stopped short, slowly drawing his hand back before speaking, trying to stay strong for the both of them.

"So…h-how are you holding up?"

Kurt looked almost startled, taking in a deep breath before he spoke.

"Huh? Oh, um…pretty shaken up. A little traumatized."

He looked down at his cup and gave a small, bitter chuckle.

"Don't be surprised if I never want to have sex."

Blaine's face immediately dropped.

"Kurt, I don't care about…_sex_. I care about you. I…"

Blaine buried his face in his hands.

"…god I'm so sorry. I was such an ass last night."

Kurt looked at him, a sort of apathy in his voice.

"You were drunk."

Blaine looked back up, a sad frown on his face as he leaned back in his seat.

"That's not an excuse. You know it's not."

Kurt shrugged, hands still wrapped around the cup in his lap.

"I know. I just, I'm not really focused on that anymore."

He glanced over at the little, guilty frown on Blaine's face.

"Besides, things could have been worse."

Blaine raised an eyebrow in question and Kurt explained.

"Well, you could have actually _slept_ with Santana."

Kurt cracked a small smile and then Blaine laughed.

"I was really _really_ drunk, wasn't I?"

Kurt laughed a bit, the first time he had done so all day and when Blaine heard it he almost wanted to cry. Instead he just drank the last bit of his coffee and tossed the empty cup into a nearby garbage can, cheering for himself when he made it in, another smile appearing on Kurt's face at his antics.

They were silent for a bit after that, Blaine's head full of the question that had been burning in his mind since last night.

"Kurt?"

Kurt turned his head, eyes just barely meeting Blaine's.

"Hmm?"

Blaine took a sort of shuttering breath, glancing down quickly before looking Kurt in the eye again.

"Wh-what's going on…you know, with Karofsky?"

Kurt took a drink of his coffee, pausing a moment and licking his lips a bit. He breathed in, long and slow, closing his eyes for a second before shifting his body to face Blaine on the bench. He didn't look up at him, his eyes still on the cup. With another breath in and out, he began to talk.

About everything.

Kurt went back to the very beginning, the small shoves in hallways, recalling details he had previously thought forgotten. His memory moved him along, words coming out of his mouth before he could think over them, everything from the kiss to the death threat to Karofsky seeing them in the locker room, spilling out into the open. He moved onto the deal between them, the drunken phone call. _Everything_.

When he was finally done speaking, he slowly looked up at Blaine. The boy looked stunned, desperately trying to process everything at once.

Kurt took a quick sip of coffee, his gaze slipping from Blaine.

"Are…you mad I didn't tell you before?"

Blaine didn't say anything for a moment, his mind still grasping on everything he had just heard.

"…No. But to be perfectly honest it's really hard to be mad at you right now. I just…I don't get why you _didn't _tell me. What did you think I would do? Out him?"

When he heard Blaine say those words out loud he realized how dumb it was to keep all of this hidden from him, to bottle it up and try and ignore it while it only got worse. Kurt spoke with a sort of genuine confusion when he replied to Blaine.

"I…I don't know. You were just…If I knew that all this was going to happen I would have told you in a heartbeat but…"

Blaine cringed when he heard Kurt say 'all this' and an image of Karofsky sitting on top of Kurt flashed back into his head.

_How could I have been so stupid? How could I not have realized that any of this was going on?_

"I'm so sorry, Kurt."

"Blaine, you have nothing to be sorry for."

Blaine shook his head.

"I-…I should have done something."

"How? You had no idea this was going on. You can't-"

Blaine looked at him, eyes watery.

"But I _should_ have known that somethingwas up! I'm supposed to be there for you, and help you and protect you. I'm supposed to make sure that nothing like this _ever_ happens!"

Kurt felt his heart twist in some odd way as he watched his boyfriend put his head back in his hands.

"Blaine. Blaine look at me."

He slowly moved his head to meet Kurt's gaze.

"Blaine, this isn't your fault. _I _should have told you, _I _should have been more open. You can't blame yourself for this."

Blaine angrily wiped at the few tears that had fallen, voice cracking as he spoke.

"Then why do I feel so _damn _guilty?"

Kurt was about to say something, but Blaine spoke again, his voice tinged with anger.

"You know, he doesn't even remember what happened? A couple of guys found him in the backyard this morning. They had to call the paramedics because he wouldn't wake up. H-he's fine and all, just super hung-over, but he blacked out. He barely even remembers the game."

Kurt's eyebrow scrunched and he took another drink of his now luke-warm coffee, trying to settle his stomach. He wasn't really sure about how he felt about this new information, a part of him was almost scared by how easily this all could just be forgotten.

"Kurt? Are you…are you going to tell him?"

It would be so easy to keep Karofsky in the dark and forget about everything, but he had to tell him for his own sake.

"Not yet. But I will."

Blaine stared at him, almost in awe of the strength he had to do something like that.

"Do you think you'll press charges or anything, you know, when he _does_ find out?"

Kurt answered quickly, as if he had already made a decision on the matter.

"No."

He continued on when he saw the confusion of Blaine's face.

"He didn't actually _do_ anything. And, I just, I don't want to make this into a huge ordeal. He- He's confused. I think that, what happened last night was his breaking point, because he kept so much hidden. I'm not trying to make what he did okay. I just think that pressing charges will hurt more than it will help. I…I think it's best if we just keep this to ourselves, the three of us. It doesn't need to be made into a bigger deal than it already is. I…I just can't handle that or the stress and chaos that will come with it."

Kurt looked up, his eyes meeting Blaine's concerned ones.

"Kurt, …I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about you."

"Blaine-"

Blaine interrupted, needing to speak his part.

"No. Just…Kurt I've let you down. I've let you down so much and I promise you I'm won't anymore. I don't care what it takes; I will do whatever I can to make sure that you're okay. I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you; never again. I…"

He took a deep breath, speaking with complete certainty, obviously having made this decision before coming here this morning.

"I'll come out. Our relationship is more important and…and I can handle it, I-I have you and-"

"No."

Blaine stopped his preplanned speech, suddenly turning his head to face Kurt with utter confusion.

"What?"

Kurt tilted his head to the side a bit.

"Blaine…you're not ready. We both know you're not. I...I know what it's like to be forced to do something you're not ready for."

Blaine seemed to lose a bit of strength, just wanting to help in any way possible.

"Kurt, whatever you need me to do, I'll do it. I'll give you as much space as you need, for however long I...I just _need_ you to be okay again. I'll even pay for a few therapy sessions for you, i-if that's what you want. Nobody needs to know. Just…let me help you. Okay?"

Kurt nodded; a gentle, caring smile on his face.

"Okay."

They were quiet again, nothing left to say in the Saturday morning breeze and they just sat for a bit, the sun rising higher in the sky.

After a bit they heard some giggling behind them, and they turned around. A young boy and a young girl were holding hands, walking down the path, the boy carrying a picnic basket. They passed right by Kurt and Blaine, heading for the center of the clearing, whispering and talking and laughing as they set out a red and white checkered blanket.

Kurt had a warm smile on his face as he watched the young love play out right in front of his eyes and he turned to Blaine, seeing the same expression on his face.

"Blaine?"

"Hmm?"

Kurt stood to throw out his now-cold coffee.

"We should let them have this place to themselves, let's head back."

Blaine smiled pleasantly and nodded. They began to walk back down to the path, Blaine's mind still back on the sweet innocence of the couple when Kurt spoke.

"Blaine, I'm going to be okay."

Blaine looked to him, silent and inquisitive.

"Things may be somewhat different for a while, but I'm not going to let my life be destroyed by this."

A sort of admiration and wonder formed in Blaine's smile.

"How can you be so strong after all of this?"

Kurt reached out, finally taking Blaine's hand in his own as they walked.

"Because you give me the courage to be strong."

* * *

About two weeks had passed since they talked in the park and it seemed as if everything had quieted. Karofsky still didn't know, but he had backed off, hadn't even tossed a look towards Blaine or Kurt. Rumors were almost nonexistent; Blaine was sitting with Kurt everyday during lunch and it seemed as if everything and everyone was in a state of calm.

Kurt was sitting on his bed, writing down some vocab to study for his next French test when his door cracked open. He dropped his pencil and looked up just as Blaine poked his head in.

"Hey!"

He quickly slipped inside, shutting the door quietly behind him before running over to Kurt.

"Hey. Aren't you supposed to be playing unnecessarily violent video games with Finn?"

He sat down on the bed next to Kurt, a goofy smile on his face and a playful tone in his voice.

"Yessss. But, all I could think about is how you were just a few doors down. And honestly, it was throwin' off my game, so…"

He gave a big smile and Kurt laughed as Blaine continued on.

"And I just…I needed to see you."

They stared at each other for a second, Blaine's gaze making Kurt blush.

"That's very sweet."

He rested his hand on Blaine's, looking down as he did.

"But,"

He slid his hand away and went back to pick up his pencil, tapping Blaine's nose with the eraser.

"I need to study."

Blaine scooted in closer to Kurt, sounding like a little kid.

"Nooooooo."

He leaned down, letting his finger softly trail up Kurt's arm.

"Study laterrr. Study me, now."

He had an impish smile on his face by the time his finger reached Kurt's jaw. Blaine slid his finger down Kurt's chin and gently turned his head towards him. He pressed a sweet little peck to his lips and paused, as if asking permission. Kurt smiled a little and then nodded just the slightest bit before kissing him back. It was innocent and playful, the closest and most intimate they had been since the incident. Kurt kissed him a little harder, his eyes closing as he placed a hand on Blaine's knee. Blaine inhaled deeply, leaning forwards even more and bringing a hand up to Kurt's cheek.

"Hey Kurt, have you seen Blain-"

Kurt and Blaine stopped dead. Blaine pulled away, looking over at the door.

Finn was standing there, frozen, hand still on the doorknob, utterly horrified. For a good few seconds, all any of them could do was stare. Finn finally broke the silence.

"AHHH!"

"AHHH!"

Kurt and Blaine screamed right back and Finn slammed the door shut. The loud bang made Blaine jump off the bed and go into a panic, he began to pace around the room, completely hysterical.

"No, no, NO! This can't be happening! This _cannot_ be happening! Kurt, I feel sick! I'm gonna puke, I'm gonna puke all over your perfect designer carpets and ruin them and Oh god- He can't keep a secret! W-why would he want to?!"

Blaine traveled quick circles around the room, tugging at his curls and staring at floor. The sight was enough to make Kurt dizzy and he started to feel like _he_ might puke just watching him.

"Oh god! Oh god oh god oh god. My life is over! My life. Is over."

"Blaine-"

"He's gonna tell everyone! Puck!…Sam! E-everyone! He's gonna-. Oh god! Kurt! Kurt what am I going to do?!"

In his frenzy, he threw himself at the wall and began to slam his fist against it.

Meanwhile, Burt was sitting in his room watching a game of hockey, his full concentration on the screen in front of him. On the wall behind him there was a loud, repetitive banging, followed by Blaine yelling 'Oh god! Oh god, Kurt!' Burt made no movement; just sat completely stone-faced. He took a long sip of his canned diet soda, inhaled and exhaled once through his nose, before quietly uttering the words,

"Not getting involved…"

Back in Kurt's room, Blaine had stopped banging his fist on the wall; but only after many protests from Kurt. Instead, he rested his head against it, the cogs turning in his brain. Kurt wasn't sure what was worse at this point.

Eyes glued to the wall, he began to come to a conclusion.

"I-I'll have to change schools. I'll have to change states! Oh god! I- My life is over. It's completely over!"

"Blaine, it's not-"

But Kurt's words were lost as Blaine once again began frantically pacing.

"He's gonna tell the whole world! I have nowhere to hide! He's gonna go on Brittany's extremely odd melted cheese show and tell everyone! _Everyone_, Kurt! They're-…oh god! They're gonna come after me. The entire football team is gonna come after me! No! The entire school! No matter where I run, I-"

He spotted the window. He immediately ran over, undoing the latch and lifting the window before trying to figure out how to pop the screen off.

"That's it! I-I have to jump! It's over! I'm gonna-"

"Blaine!"

Kurt grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, his stern voice making Blaine look like a scared puppy.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

Blaine stepped away from the window, eyes still wide and frightened.

"You are _overreacting_! Breathe!"

He forced himself to take a quick breath.

"Finn!"

Blaine heard that and turned, trying to go for the window again but Kurt grabbed his arm and held him there.

"Finn, get in here right now!"

The door creaked open and Finn shuffled in, head hung low.

"Good! Now, we are going to go downstairs, sit down, and talk about this. Understood?"

The both mumbled, neither of them meeting the other's gaze, only staring at the floor.

"Understood!?"

"Yes, Kurt!"

* * *

Blaine was sitting on the opposite side of Finn at the table. They were both staring down, hands folded in their laps and shoulders stiff.

There had never been a more awkward moment in all of history.

Finally Kurt walked in, a plate of cookies in one hand, three glasses of milk atop a tray in the other. He set both things down and neither of them moved a muscle, though Finn couldn't keep his eyes off the plate of cookies.

Kurt sat down next to Blaine, looking at the two of them and how tense they were before rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's just talk about this like calm, mature adults-"

Finn nearly jumped out of his chair as he shouted.

"I SHOWERED NEXT TO YOU, MAN!"

Kurt leaned back in his seat, already looking like he had lost this battle.

"Or…not…"

Blaine tried to say something to keep Finn from freaking out even more, but it only backfired.

"I know! But…I mean…I never looked! ...Well okay I did once."

Finn and Kurt gaped at him, both of them thrown into a state of confused horror. Blaine began to panic even more.

"BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I-I promise!"

Both Kurt and Finn still seemed to be a bit disturbed.

"Y-you're not my type, okay?!"

Finn settled back in his seat, this time looking almost offended.

"No! I mean…uh…you, you're too tall? I…You don't do your hair! I like guys who do their hair! Okay?!"

Finn reached up to touch his hair a bit, mildly insecure as he patted at it. There was a slight pause in conversation and Kurt took that moment to try and get the conversation on track.

"Okay, all that aside-"

But Finn didn't let that happen as he interrupted again.

"Wait, how long has this been going on for?!"

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other, both of them thinking as they tried to come up with a date. Kurt was the first to speak.

"Um...since..._before_ Christmas? Right?"

Blaine looked like he was trying to remember something and then he nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah a few weeks before Christmas."

Finn kind of nodded, as if was starting to understand.

"And nobody else knows?"

Kurt looked like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Um, no. Dad and Carole know."

Finn's jaw nearly dropped.

"Wait, what?"

Blaine nodded matter-of-factly.

"Yeah they found out like, almost day one."

Kurt nodded with him.

"Yeah."

Finn seemed a little less confused and kept talking.

"And that's it?"

Kurt pursed his lips, trying to think.

"Um…yeah."

Blaine put a hand on Kurt's arm.

"No. No. Rachel and Mercedes know too."

Finn actually seemed offended this time.

"Seriously?!"

But the couple just gave tiny, little 'sorry-you-were-the-only-one-in-the-house-that-didn't-know' smiles.

"W-when were you going to tell me?!"

Kurt began to answer him.

"We hadn't really discussed-"

But then Blaine cut in, telling Finn of his previously unknown plan.

"Well I figured it could be like a senior year thing. You know, we're all in the locker room, saying our goodbyes, and at the very last second I'd be like 'by the way guys, I'm gay' and then _run_."

Kurt raised a disapproving eyebrow at Blaine and he ducked his head.

"So…hold on. You two…I mean you guys…you aren't…you know…"

They cocked their heads at Finn, neither of them having the faintest idea of what he was talking about.

"I mean like,"

Finn made some weird facial expressions before dropping his voice to a near whisper.

"having…_you know."_

Kurt, still extremely perplexed, tried to answer for Finn.

"…Sex?"

Finn immediately looked down at the table, suddenly very awkward and embarrassed as Blaine began to splutter out words.

"NO! No! God no! I mean…I mean it's not that I wouldn't _want_ to…uh…no like, I mean…like, you know, w-we're not ready and…and…"

Kurt put a hand on Blaine's shoulder.

"Blaine, just stop talking. _Please._"

Blaine shrunk into himself. Finn looked completely distressed, like he didn't even know what to do with this situation and Kurt just glared at the cookies, rather upset that nobody had touched one yet.

There was a long, awkward silence before Finn suddenly spoke.

"Alright, whoever's playing footsie with me needs to stop."

A surprised look popped onto Kurt and Blaine's faces, both admitting guilt.

"Oh! Sorry."

There was another strange silence in which Kurt shifted backwards in his chair, sitting up straighter as he folded his hands in his lap, attempting to ease the overwhelming tension.

"Okay. So, I think now would be a good time to, you know, talk about boundaries and emotions. There are obviously a lot of feelings that need to be discussed and I think it will be very healthy to just get them out there and-"

Finn interrupted, _again_, to turn to Blaine, speaking loudly to clearly drown out Kurt.

"Hey man, I think the game is on. Wanna go watch it?"

Blaine jumped out of his chair, just as eager to avoid the topic.

"Yeah, sure!"

They began to run out to the living room, Finn turning back really quickly to snatch the plate of cookies off the counter. Kurt sighed, grabbing a glass and taking a drink of milk.

_Boys…_

He looked over at them, the two boys flipping on the TV and lounging around on the couch, acting like nothing had changed as they munched on cookies. After a few minutes Blaine turned to Finn, looking slightly concerned.

"Hey man, no one knows about this?"

Finn smiled, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

"Dude, of course."

"Cool."

Blaine smiled and they shared a quick fist bump before turning back to the game.

"Aw c'mon, Bryant! You can do better than that!"

Kurt shook his head, laughing to himself. And although he was annoyed that nothing was really talked about, he felt like maybe nothing needed to be. Because nothing had _really_ changed. And Kurt couldn't help but think that maybe this was for the best; that maybe, just maybe, this would give Blaine the strength to come out.


	26. Chapter 26

**We. Are. So. SORRY! That was a very long, very unexpected hiatus! We ran into some personal complications****and a new semester just started for both us so it's been a little hard finding time to write. We hate to say it, but it might take us a little while to write the last two chapters also. But we WILL write them. We are NOT abandoning the story or anything like that. We love you all so much and we hope you're still with us!**

**Also: Because it's been asked, we wanted to clarify that there will ****not**** be a sequel. The way the story ends…we just don't feel like there's a need for one. But we **_**will**_** be writing one shots and some other fics as well :) Alright, enjoy.**

Chapter 26

Kurt threw a high kick up in the air, moving in time with the music.

He was smiling and confident, secure in his every movement and for the first time in almost a month, he felt like himself again. After everything that had been thrown his way, he didn't feel weak or broken, he just felt that much stronger as a person.

Kurt shook his hip to the left, then to the right and with a few more well placed moves, the cheer was over and a whistle was being blown, signaling the end of practice.

He went over to his bag, grabbing his towel and throwing it over his shoulder before taking a drink from his water bottle. He looked out onto the field, spotting Blaine in his number 42 jersey, and smiled. The team was preparing for the big championship game in two days and Blaine was focused on the current play, a fierce determination in his brow. Kurt smiled a bit brighter as he thought back on the last few weeks, a warmth filling his body as he watched his boyfriend, knowing that he couldn't have made it through this without him.

Kurt's gaze shifted a bit and he found himself settling on Karofsky. And normally, he would cringe just the slightest bit, or he would have to look away quickly as he felt the beginnings of nausea. But today felt different. Today he felt calm and sure of himself. Kurt had been thinking about this day for weeks now, and he knew he was ready.

There were a few hollers as the team was dismissed and Kurt couldn't help but laugh at the apparent enthusiasm. He waited a few minutes before heading over, catching Blaine just before he headed into the locker room.

"Hey."

Blaine gave a breathless smile when he saw Kurt, his whole face lighting up.

"Hey! What's up?"

Kurt grinned slightly.

"Not much. I heard Beiste saying she wanted to talk to David after practice."

Blaine lowered his voice a bit, not really sure where Kurt was going with this.

"Uh, yeah. I think it's about his grades or something. He hasn't been doing too well. Why? What's going on? Did he do something to you?"

Kurt quickly shook his head.

"No. I just…I've been thinking and…"

He paused, glancing around to make sure that no one was in ear shot, before meeting Blaine's gaze with absolute certainty.

"And I'm ready to talk to him about what happened."

Blaine blinked a few times, slightly shocked and seemingly more worried about this than Kurt was.

"A-are you sure? 'Cause you don't have to rush into this-"

Kurt held up his hand slightly.

"I'm one hundred percent positive."

Blaine could see the confidence in Kurt's eyes and he felt his heart swell. He missed that look so much. He let the tips of his fingers softly brush Kurt's wrist, and down to the back of his hand, then just across his knuckles before falling back to his side. It was as close to holding Kurt's hand as he could get. He looked down at the floor almost shyly before looking back at Kurt with a smile.

"Okay."

The two of them waited for the locker room to clear out, going inside when they knew the only person still in there was Karofsky. He left Beiste's office, looking slightly defeated, and Beiste left shortly after. Blaine gently squeezed Kurt's hand and smiled at him with a nod. They approached Karofsky, who was quickly grabbing his backpack from his locker so he could leave. The jock spotted the couple out of the corner of his eye.

"What the hell do you ladies want?"

Blaine ignored the comment.

"We need to talk to you."

Karofsky nearly scoffed as he shut his locker and turned to leave.

"Not interested."

Kurt spoke up.

"He knows, David."

Karofsky glanced at him and was met with a steady gaze that spoke volumes, a gaze that said '_you have no power over me anymore'_.

His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he turned to glare at Blaine.

"Knows _what_?"

Blaine looked him dead in the eye, completely calm.

"Everything."

Karofsky was terrified, but he hid it well, quickly turning and beginning to storm out as Blaine called after him.

"Look, we just want to talk."

Karofsky was trying to stay calm but panic was creeping into his voice.

"I don't want to hear _anything_ you have to say!"

Before Blaine knew what he was doing, a small monologue of reassurances was tumbling out of his mouth.

"We're not here to out you, okay? I know how hard this is. To pretend to be someone you're not. To have to watch _every single_ step you take because you don't want to be judged or ridiculed or worse. I get it. I get what it's like to feel like every day of your life is a lie, but knowing that you'd rather die than live the truth. We're not gonna go and just force you out of the closet."

Karofsky paused, an overwhelming suspicion still prevalent in his voice.

"Then why are you here?"

Kurt spoke and Karofsky's eyes darted over towards him.

"You might want to sit down."

Karofsky looked between the pair of them, weighing his options for a moment that seemed to last for hours before reluctantly dropping his bag and sitting heavily on the nearest bench. As he did that, Kurt noticed something odd on the floor. A blood stain. His blood.

Kurt was suddenly so aware of everything that had happened in this room. This was where everything had started, where so much of himself had been taken away. It was a sort of poetic justice that this was where it all would end.

Kurt was silent, eyes still focused on the stain, so Blaine was the first one to speak up.

"How much do you remember from that night a few weeks ago? The party?"

Karofsky seemed to search his memory, his face full of confusion when he came up blank.

"Nothing. I blacked out… Why?"

Kurt spoke with a slight edge in his voice.

"It's pretty obvious that you don't know how to handle what you're feeling, and it's seems to have also become apparent that with alcohol you have even…_less_ control over yourself."

No matter how much he tried to hide it, Kurt could still see that Karofsky was getting visibly nervous.

"What do you mean?"

Blaine took a deep breath.

"You ran into Kurt that night at the party. Um, you two were alone, and he tried to get away from you, but things got pretty violent and…"

Blaine faltered slightly, quickly losing his nerve. Karofsky didn't even take a moment before he impatiently shot back.

"And what?"

Blaine felt stuck, like the words were there but he just couldn't say them.

"_And_, you…you…"

Blaine looked to Kurt, floundering for his voice, slight panic in his eyes, and Kurt returned his gaze calmly, nodding just the slightest bit before meeting Karofsky's eye.

It felt as if the whole world paused for a single, miniscule second; just waiting and watching to see what would happen next. And then Kurt spoke.

"You tried to rape me, David."

Blaine felt Kurt twitch involuntarily. That word had never been said until now.

Blaine looked at him, as if to ask _'are you okay?'_. Kurt nodded once again before going back to Karofsky, who was staring at the floor, unmoving, in a shocked state of complete and utter disbelief.

"I know this may be hard to take in, but you needed to know."

Blaine noticed as Karofsky's hands balled into tightly clenched fists.

"If it helps at all, Kurt's not pressing charges. And no one outside the three of us will know about it either."

There was a moment of quiet before Karofsky spoke, low and quiet, almost a growl, his eyes still glued to the linoleum.

"What kind of sick joke is this?"

Blaine shook his head slightly.

"This isn't a joke. It's the truth."

Karofsky's head shot up suddenly, his gaze going straight to Kurt, pure unadulterated fear and rage written all over every feature of his face.

"You're a liar."

Blaine kept calm as he replied.

"Why would we lie about something like this?"

Karofsky shook his head furiously, white-knuckled hands now gripping onto the bench.

"I-I don't know. To mess with me…t-to make me think that-…I don't know, okay! But you are!"

Blaine raised his hands slightly in some sort of defense, ready to step in between him and Kurt at a moment's notice if it came to that.

"Hey, just…calm down, okay? This may not be an easy thing to accept but you can't just keep hiding from the truth because you don't like it. That isn't going to change anything. What you did to him can't-"

Karofsky couldn't handle another second of it. He shot of from his seat, grabbing Blaine by the jersey and slamming him against the locker.

"Shut up you lying piece of shit!"

Blaine didn't move or shout or try to get Karofsky away from him. Instead he stood there, holding his gaze and defiantly sticking his jaw out, almost as a challenge.

Kurt, however, immediately sprung into action.

"David! Stop!"

Kurt tried to force his way in between them, but Karofsky wouldn't budge. He had his piercing glare glued on Blaine as Kurt tried to talk him down.

"You can_not_ keep acting like this! Just becoming mindlessly violent _isn't_ going to solve your problems! You need to start taking responsibility for your actions before you end up hurting someone else!"

Karofsky looked at him. Kurt's eyes refused to waver. He stayed strong, holding himself there, needing this to get through to Karofsky. The larger jock seemed full of anger, but there was the slightest tinge of fear underneath, as if he was on the edge of a breakdown. The fear was small, but it was just enough.

He let go of Blaine, shoving him once more against the lockers for good measure before scrambling to grab his backpack and stormed out.

The door slammed shut behind him and Blaine exhaled roughly.

"Well, that didn't go as well as I hoped."

Kurt stared at the door with a raised eyebrow.

"What did you expect? For him to magically 'see the light' and the world would turn into cotton candy and sunshine and we'd all skip off into the sunset?"

Kurt looked over at him with just the corner of his mouth raised in a smile and Blaine gave a small chuckle.

"Well _no_."

Blaine readjusted his uniform and then looked over to Kurt, who met him with a sweet, affectionate smile. Blaine felt his heart flutter when he saw the gratitude and love and kindness in Kurt's gaze. He had to remind himself to breathe as he took a seat on the bench.

"But, I don't know. An apology would have been nice. Just…_something_, you know? After all he put you through."

Kurt sat down next to him.

"He'll get there, on his own. It's a lot to take in all at once. But, he'll start to process everything. He'll get over the anger and resentment, and hopefully become a better person because of it. He just needs a little time."

Kurt nodded slightly to himself, as if pleased with his answer and then looked over to see Blaine with a smile on his face, staring at him in complete awe. Kurt tilted his head to the side with a small laugh.

"What?"

Blaine placed his hand in Kurt's, intertwining their fingers like he had wanted to do earlier.

"You are just the most…_compassionate_ and kind-hearted person I have ever met, and I…am _so_ lucky to be with you."

Kurt blushed and looked at the ground, unable to hide his smile, suddenly feeling as if all those parts of him that had been stripped away and stolen had grown back even stronger.

Blaine took his empty hand and brought it to Kurt's cheek, bringing his face back towards his and instantly reminding Kurt of their first kiss. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, just pure emotion between the two of them. Blaine began to lean in for a kiss, but Kurt's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"We should probably go."

Blaine let his head drop and laughed.

"We should. We both smell awful."

Kurt fell back a bit in laughter before sitting back up and giving Blaine a playful nudge.

"Thank you."

Blaine met Kurt with a smile.

"For what?"

"For helping me through. For being there whenever I needed you, for staying by my side and making sure I came back from this."

Blaine felt his eyes begin to water.

"You'll never need to thank me for that."

Kurt ducked his head and gave Blaine another nudge, laughing lightly.

"C'mon, Stinky. Go get changed so we can leave."

Blaine laughed as he quickly wiped away a tear and then rolled his eyes dramatically, feigning annoyance as he replied.

"Finnneeee."

Kurt smiled, and as he headed for the door Blaine called out to him.

"Hey, Kurt?"

Kurt turned back slightly.

"Hmm?"

Blaine opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it, repressing the urge to say 'I love you'. It wasn't the right time.

_Not here._

He instead flashed a bright smile and shook his head.

"Nothing. I just…I'm so proud of you."

Kurt smiled back before walking out, head held high, feeling almost redeemed.

* * *

Blaine sat on the piano bench, his fingers gliding over the keys as he played a light melody. Kurt sat next to him, his head resting on Blaine's shoulder as he hummed along.

The last few notes drifted from the piano and Kurt lifted his head, smiling lazily at his boyfriend. Blaine smiled and leaned forwards, pressing his lips to Kurt's cheek. He leaned into Blaine's side, eyes closing as Blaine wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed another kiss to his forehead.

There were some footsteps by the doorway and Carole cleared her throat to make herself known. Kurt stayed as he was, content and warm, but Blaine quickly turned his head, looking a little embarrassed at her presence. She gave a sweet smile, gushing when she saw the couple.

"Oh, you two are so cute. Blaine, hun, are you staying for dinner?"

Blaine quickly looked around the room, trying to spot a clock.

"I uh…what time is it?"

"Around 7:30."

Blaine's eyes widened a bit, but he nodded.

"Oh! Shoot! Uh, yeah, I guess. If it's not too much trouble."

Carole laughed a bit, nodding at Blaine's dopey smile.

"Alright. Sounds good. It should be done around 8:00, I'll call you when it's ready."

Carole left the room and Blaine turned back to Kurt, pulling him a little closer. Kurt reached out, running a finger up and down Blaine's hand.

"I want to teach you how to sew."

Blaine looked down at Kurt with surprise, wanting to make sure he heard him right.

"Huh?"

Kurt sat up with a cute grin on his face.

"Well, you've been teaching me some more piano, so I want to teach you how to sew."

"Uh, I… well, alright, sure!"

Blaine's face lit up and he immediately stood, grabbing Kurt's hand and heading for his bedroom.

Kurt started by giving Blaine a simple swatch of cotton fabric, a needle and some matching thread; showing him how to do a basic running stitch before letting him practice by himself while he finished a pair of pants he had been working on for a while now.

Fifteen minutes had passed by and Blaine was now sitting on the bed, cross legged and brow furrowed in concentration; tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth as he put all of his focus into his handiwork.

He stopped and examined his stitches, then held his piece out proudly.

"Whatdaya think?"

And Kurt paused his work to look at Blaine's and smiled brightly.

"Exquisite! You are _practically_ a natural."

Blaine gave a light chuckle as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh hush."

Blaine let himself fall backwards onto the bed, a goofy grin on his face as he took a small break from stitching. His wandering eyes soon fell on Kurt's French book on the floor next to his bag. He paused, setting down his piece of fabric as a thought entered his mind.

"Hey, Kurt?"

Kurt replied without looking up from the hem of the pant leg.

"Yeah?"

"…Do you think you could _actually_ teach me French?"

Kurt stopped sewing and slowly turned around with a raised eyebrow. Blaine just stared back for a second before trying to explain.

"You know, back when you were 'tutoring' me we didn't exactly…well…"

Kurt's face morphed into a smile as Blaine spoke.

"Sure."

He laid the pair of pants on his work table, switched off his sewing machine and took a seat next to Blaine on the bed.

"Okay, just some basic words first."

Blaine nodded eagerly and placed his swatch of fabric off to the side.

"Let's see, um. Let's start with a salutation. _Bonjour._"

Kurt spoke easily and fluidly, the word coming naturally to him.

"Bonejur."

Blaine, not so much.

"No, no it's _bonjour_."

"Okay, uh… _Bonjour._"

Kurt smiled at the success.

"There you go! Okay, um how about…_merci_."

"Merci."

Kurt smiled brightly at him, starting to understand the attractive appeal of the language.

"Very nice. Let's try something a bit more challenging. _Merci beaucoup._

Kurt laughed a bit as Blaine sat up straighter, eager for more French.

"Merci bow…um…"

Blaine's eyebrow scrunched and Kurt supplied the second word.

"Beau_coup_"

"Beau…coup…?"

Kurt gave a small nod of approval, giving Blaine a bit more confidence.

"Beaucoup. Merci beaucoup."

Kurt smiled brightly.

"Wonderful! That means thank you very much."

Blaine grinned and nodded at Kurt.

"Awesome. What else?"

"Um…"

Kurt glanced down at his text book, pulling one of the words printed on the cover.

"Oh, uh, _combien._"

"C- uh, wait. What was it again?"

Kurt had to keep from giggling at Blaine's attempt.

"Combien."

Blaine nodded a second, lips moving slightly as he repeated the word in his head.

"Com…bien. What does that mean?"

Kurt laughed a little bit, the randomness of the word now dawning on him.

"It means 'how much'."

The corner of Blaine's mouth tugged up a bit and Kurt reached forwards, tucking a stray curl back behind Blaine's ear as he spoke.

"How about…_Bonsoir_. That means 'good evening'."

Blaine smiled, grabbing Kurt's hand and kissing the back of it gently, using an exaggerated French accent as he repeated the word back to Kurt.

"_Bonsoir_."

Kurt would normally laugh at Blaine's theatrics, but something about the way he said it made Kurt blush instead.

_Why is this so…hot._

Kurt coughed a little, quickly shaking away his thoughts and getting back on track.

"Uh…try this;"

Kurt glanced down at his watch, spitting out the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh..L'heure est presque huit heures du soir."

Blaine face suddenly went blank when he heard the phrase.

"…what."

Kurt threw his head back in a laugh.

"It means 'It's almost eight o'clock'. L'heure est presque huit heures du soir."

"Le…Lehu…uh…L-"

Kurt giggled and put a finger on Blaine's lips.

"Okay, stop, stop this is painful to watch. How about we try something easier?"

Kurt realized he still hand his finger on Blaine's lips and slowly let it drift back to his lap. He ducked his head a bit, a small, impish smile spreading towards his cheek.

"Je te veux."

Blaine smiled quizzically before he even tried to repeat it, catching the glint in Kurt's eye.

"What does that mean?"

Kurt opened his mouth slightly, but paused, blushing as he bit his lip.

"…I want you."

Blaine's eyebrow rose while Kurt's eyes peaked up at him. Blaine's voice dropped a little lower, his eyes held the slightest bit of lust and his lips set into the sexiest smile Kurt had ever seen.

"Combien?"

Kurt's eyes went wide, not expecting him to answer. Let alone _that_ answer. He stare shifted to Blaine's parted lips, then back at his eyes.

There was a slight pause, in which Kurt whimpered a small,

"_So much_."

And then the two of them practically leapt towards each other.

"Hey guys dinner's read- oh god!"

Blaine let go of Kurt and flopped backwards onto the bed with a groan, their lips had been literally _inches_ from each other. Kurt whipped around to face Finn with an icy cold glare.

"Jesus Finn! Do you ever _knock_!?"

Finn slowly backed out of the room.

"I uh…I'll just be down stairs…"

Finn skittered off down the stairs and Kurt crossed his arms, pissed at the intrusion. Blaine just laughed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"C'mon. Let's go eat dinner."

* * *

Blaine: Hey. No practice today. Coach wants us to rest. Wanna meet up by your locker and grab a bite to eat?

Kurt: Sure :)

Blaine: Awesome! See u soon :)

* * *

Blaine stood by his locker, looking over a text message again and again. He hesitated for a second more before finally clicking send. He locked his phone, quickly shoving it in his pocket and taking a deep breath. Blaine let his head fall back against his locker, eyes closed and heart pounding. He almost considered running and heading straight to Kurt's locker, just avoiding this whole situation, but he knew this was something that had to be done.

His fingers tapped against his thigh spastically, and he couldn't stand still. Blaine looked to the left, then to the right, glancing around the hall. He took a nervous breath, checking the time on his phone once before crossing his arms and trying to stand still.

Blaine looked back down the hallway, his timing spot on. He turned his head just as Santana turned the corner.

Blaine felt his stomach flip upside down as she sauntered towards him, stalking down the hall like a sleek, black Jaguar ready to take down its prey. He had this feeling like he was about to be eaten alive.

Her steps were steady and strong, quietly pounding down the hall as people scrambled out of her way like terrified little deer. Her high pony swished sharply back and forth in rhythm with the flaps on her skirt. A ferocious smile settled on her face as she neared Blaine, the most terrified deer of them all. As she closed in, Blaine felt every single ounce of confidence slowly drain out of his body.

_Is it too late to run? No. No I can do this._

He straightened up, feigning courageousness. Santana stopped right in front of him, hands on her hips in a fierce display of dominance.

Blaine was about to speak and Santana raised a single eyebrow, effectively stopping any words from leaving his mouth. He took a moment, wetting his lips before trying to speak again.

"Santana, um, look we-mmph!"

Before he could even finish a whole sentence, Santana pounced; slamming him back up against the lockers, covering his lips with her own and thrusting her body flush up against his.

The movement in the hallways stopped, everyone turning to look at the sudden assault. The kiss was hot and steamy, Santana taking complete control. More than a few students' jaws went slack and cat calls and wolf whistles were hollered out.

Blaine felt his face turn cherry red, and he was too stunned to move. He began to squirm and fidget, getting increasingly uncomfortable as Santana's hands roamed over his body.

Kurt walked down an intersecting hallway, heading towards his locker with thoughts of Blaine in his head and a smile on his face. He readjusted the strap on his bag as he walked, not really paying attention to his surroundings until he passed by and heard a commotion. There were some whistles and some shouts and he quickly turned his head to see what was going on. A crowd of people were blocking his view and he couldn't quite make out what was happening. He only saw the swish of a curly, black pony tail and the bright red of a Cheerios uniform.

_Santana_.

He figured it was just some drama that she had started up and he _almost_ walked on. He _almost_ didn't see that familiar mop of curly brown hair; he _almost_ didn't see that tell-tale casual white t-shirt and letterman jacket, and he _almost_ didn't feel his heart stop beating for a moment.

But he did.

He stood frozen, the crowd clearing just the slightest bit and allowing him to see Santana currently mauling his boyfriend. A part of him just wanted to march over there and slap Blaine clear across the face. To scream at him, to out him, _anything_. But he didn't.

Instead he just shook his head, pushing aside his broken heart and making way for one made of stone. Because it just wasn't worth it. _Blaine_ wasn't worth it.

He turned on the heel of his foot and walked away, missing the moment when Blaine shoved Santana away from him. The crowd of students gasped and he wiped his mouth roughly with the back of his hand. He blinked rapidly a few times at the students surrounding them, and then mustered up courage that he didn't know he had.

"No, Santana. Look, I don't know what _this_ is, but it's over. I-"

Santana's head tilted to the side just the slightest bit and she moved closer to him. But Blaine kept talking, trying not to lose his nerve.

"…I used you to stay popular and it was wrong and I'm sorry. You're a very…uh…_nice_ girl, but it just…"

She moved ever closer, nodding her head with false understanding.

"…it wouldn't work out between…"

She placed a long, tan finger on his lips.

"…us."

He gulped audibly, his heart pounding faster than ever, feeling as though she could practically smell his fear. After a second of silence, Santana's face turned into a smirk.

"Lemme tell how this works, John Oates. I am the hottest bitch up in this joint, which means I don't get dumped by frizzy haired losers like you. So, unless you want me to go _all_ Lima Heights on your ass, here's what I suggest;"

Santana stepped forwards, letting her hand drift down his chest.

"First, you're gonna take me out for lunch,"

She slinked closer, only about half a foot separating them.

"Then, you're gonna stop by the jewelry store and buy me some sweet bling to make up for you _blatant_ lapse of sanity,"

She grabbed a handful of his shirt, forcefully pulling him towards her.

"And then we're gonna head back to your place,"

She put her lips against his ear and let her knee slip between his thighs, voice like a light yet dangerous purr as she spoke.

"And finish what we started at that party."

She lightly bit his ear lobe, tugging on it gently before letting go.

"Am I clear?"

Blaine stood there, slightly petrified and unmoving, trying to figure out what to do as Santana stood with her body practically wrapped around his. He took a deep breath, gently peeling Santana off of him.

"I'm flattered, Santana. Really, I am. But we're done. I'm sorry, but you're just not my type."

He took a few steps backwards down the hall, shrugging lightly as he said one last thing.

"And besides, you're kind of a bitch."

The students surrounding them let out gasps and shouts of encouragement, and Blaine took advantage of Santana's minor state of shock to flee, practically running down the hall before she had the chance to tear him limb from limb.

Blaine: Sorry I took so long. Omw :)

* * *

Blaine passed by the choir room, looking flustered and stopping short. His face filled with relief at the sight of Kurt sitting inside.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."

Kurt didn't even lift a hand in greeting, just kept his eyes glued to the phone in his hands. Blaine walked forwards a bit, confused and concerned, but still trying to stay light.

"I waited by your locker, you never showed up. I was starting to think someone kidnapped you or something. Why didn't you answer your phone? "

Kurt met Blaine with silence.

"Kurt? Kurt, are you okay? Look, I need to tell you something, it just happened and it's nothing serious but-"

Kurt put his phone in his pocket with a deep breath and headed towards the door.

"Kurt? Kurt where are you going?"

Blaine chased after him, grabbing his arm to stop him.

"Hey! Hold up. Did I do something wrong?"

Kurt stood there, his voice dry and uncaring, even a little cold.

"I don't know. Did you?"

He glared down at the hand on his arm for a second before pulling away and Blaine immediately grabbed his shoulder.

"Please don't play that game with me. If there's something wrong just tell me."

Kurt whipped his body around to face him, his eyes cold and piercing and Blaine could almost feel as they stabbed him through the heart.

"I _saw_ you with Santana, Blaine."

Blaine was shocked at the directness, suddenly realizing how seriously Kurt was hurt. He stumbled through this thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain this before Kurt ran out.

"That-that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I should have done it sooner, I know. But everything with Karofsky got me sidetracked. B-but I broke up with her. It's done."

"Yeah, you looked _real_ 'broken up' with her tongue halfway down your throat."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Blaine, pushing past him, heading towards the other door.

"Hey!"

Kurt turned around again, listening half-heartedly, if at all, to what he was saying.

"Look, _she_ kissed me, okay. I-"

Kurt started to walk away again. Blaine was astonished that Kurt wouldn't stay, even for a moment, and he threw his hands up in the air.

"You can't seriously think that I would _actually_ do that with her. After everything, after all we went through together these past weeks? Kurt-"

Kurt tossed a few angry words over his shoulder as he walked.

"I honestly don't know what to believe anymore."

Blaine went to Kurt and took hold of his wrist.

"Can you _stop_ walking away from me? Please?"

Kurt turned around, silent and fuming, not wanting to hear the excuses that Blaine had to offer.

"It's _not_ like that."

Kurt rolled his eyes once more.

"No, Blaine. That's exactly what this is like. That's exactly what this has _always_ been like. All you care about is what other people think about you. About how popular you are."

Blaine took a step back, releasing his grip on Kurt's wrist.

"That's not true."

Kurt's voice began to rise.

"Yes, it is! If it wasn't this stuff with Santana wouldn't have even happened! You'd do anything to protect your precious reputation!"

Blaine gritted his teeth, trying to keep his cool.

"I know I've made mistakes, okay. I can't change that. But I'm trying to fix it now. I'm doing my best to make up for what I've done so we can be happy together. So don't go and throw that in my face."

Kurt just scoffed in reply which only set Blaine off just that much more.

"And don't go preaching to _me_ about popularity like it doesn't mean anything to you."

Kurt's gaze shot over to Blaine and he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"It doesn't."

Blaine nearly laughed, rolling his eyes as he called Kurt out on his hypocrisy.

"Really? So did you just join the Cheerios because it 'looked like fun'? You _hate_ Sue. You hate half the girls on that squad. The only reason you're there is because you know that as long as you are you won't have to take so much crap from everyone!"

Kurt's eyes flared and he glared at Blaine, hands tensing as he tried to keep from screaming.

"Do _not_ go and turn this around on me! That is _not_ what this is about!"

Blaine matched Kurt's tone of voice.

"Then what _is _it about?!"

Kurt snapped. He strode towards Blaine, not even trying to quiet his voice, finally laying everything on him.

"You! You and this _stupid_ lie that you're living so that you can feel 'normal'! I'm sick of it, Blaine! I want a _real_ relationship. Not some bullshit one that has to hide in the freaking closet! I-! …I don't want to be a part of this anymore."

A strained silence settled over the pair of them as Kurt bit back tears and those last words replayed in Blaine's mind.

_'I don't want to be a part of this anymore.' _

He looked distraught, panicked even. There was a sense of desperation as he nearly pleaded with Kurt.

"Kurt…what do you want me to do?"

Kurt hesitated a moment. He knew he shouldn't be making this move.

"…Come out."

That small request sent a chill up Blaine's spine and he felt his entire body go completely cold.

"Kurt…I-I can't-"

Kurt's eyes flashed his disappointment and anger.

"Why!? Because of what other people will say!? Because of what the _team_ might think!?"

Blaine was disoriented, desperately trying to find some solution.

"I'm not _ready-_"

Kurt challenged his words without a second thought.

"You offered to before!-"

Blaine felt himself slowly losing this battle.

"And I wasn't ready _then_ either, Kurt! You knew that!"

Kurt glared at him, speaking with a harsh, condescending tone.

"Then when, Blaine? When _will_ you be ready? Please tell me so I can mark it on my freakin' calendar!"

Blaine was struggling to stay afloat.

"Kurt-"

Kurt couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice, and he felt himself breaking just a little bit more with each word.

"No! No, I am sick and tired of-of…of all of this! For months I have _waited_ for you! I-I've sat by and watched you try to _insanely_ balance who you are and who everyone else _thinks_ you are! I've compromised. I let things slide. I've stretch myself as far as I can possibly go and I _can't_ handle it anymore!"

Kurt took a deep breath, holding back the tears he felt burning in his eyes, and summoned all the strength he had left.

"…I'm done, Blaine. I'm done waiting for you."

Kurt turned one last time, walking away from Blaine and towards the door. Blaine looked visibly sick, tears already creeping out and streaking down his cheeks as he managed to choke out a few more words.

"Does this mean we're breaking up?"

Kurt stopped, hand on the doorframe. That question was so finite, so drastic, so horrifying.

"I…I don't know."

And then Kurt left, he was out the door in a moment, each fading footstep pounding against Blaine's ear drums. He just sat there; lost, dazed, confused, broken. Desperately needing his other half, who was getting farther from him with every passing second.

His eyes were set on the door, a part of him still hoping that Kurt would come back. That he'd walk right back in the room and they'd fix this. They'd make it work. And everything would be okay again.

But he didn't.

Kurt was gone.


End file.
